
Glass BsLlUl 

Book .F? 

Copyright N° 



COPVRIGHT DEPOSiT. 



Everyday Efficiency 

A PRACTICAL GUIDE 
TO EFFICIENT LIVING 

Written for the Ordinary Man and Woman 



FORBES LINDSAY 

Author of "Efficiency" "The Psychology 
of a Sa/e," etc., etc. 



NEW YORK 

THOMAS Y. CROWELL COMPANY 

PUBLISHERS 



•*7 



Copyright 1918 
by FORBES LINDSAY 



OCT 

©CU503815 



Dedicated 
to 

Harrington Emerson 

Past Master of Efficiency 

by a 

Grateful Disciple 



FOREWORD 

The material in this volume has been exten- 
sively used as a correspondence course. Hundreds 
of letters testify to remarkable benefits derived 
from it. Similar results may be secured from the 
employment of the material in its present form, 
provided the lessons are studied closely and the 
exercises practised persistently. 

The object of the present publication is to bring 
this system of instruction in Personal Efficiency 
within the reach of the many who can not afford the 
cost of a correspondence course, which usually 
ranges from fifteen to fifty dollars. 

It has been deemed advisable to adhere to the 
original arrangement of lessons with test ques- 
tions. The student is strongly advised to treat the 
material in the same manner as he would if he were 
receiving one lesson each week, with the obligation 
of returning answers to the questions at the same 
intervals. 

Forbes Lindsay. 
Los Angeles, CaL, 
August i, ipiS. 



CONTENTS 

PART L— MENTAL EFFICIENCY 
Chapter I. Introduction I 

Definition and description of Personal Efficiency — Personal 
Efficiency an essential basis for Vocational Efficiency — Effi- 
ciency makes for greater performance of better quality in less 
time — The secret of success in business — Efficiency is primarily 
a mental condition — Outline of the course of instruction con- 
tained in the volume — Some suggestions for study and practice. 

Chapter II. Suggestion 14 

Suggestion the most powerful factor in our mental processes — 
Suggestion defined and explained — Its extensive part in our 
everyday life — The subjective or sub-conscious mind — The 
power of Suggestion illustrated — Practical aspect of Auto-Sug- 
gestion — The value of self-analysis — Direct use of Suggestion 
in self-improvement — Various forms of Suggestion described — 
Methods of employing Auto-Suggestion for personal benefit — 
Exercises in the use of Suggestion — Books on kindred subjects 
— Review questions. 

Chapter III. Will, Perseverance, Concentration 53 

The part of Will in self-improvement, character-building and 
personal Efficiency — Intelligent cultivation of the Will — Self- 
Suggestion as a medium to that end — Will in the formation of 
habit — Resolution and decision in the permanent mental atti- 
tude — The power of purpose in stimulating Will — Waning 
Will to be guarded against — Component elements of Perse- 
verance — Methods of sustaining Will — How to cultivate Con- 
centration — Books on kindred subjects — Exercises in Con- 
centration — Review questions. 

Chapter IV. Fear, Timidity, Worry ... 77 

The demoralizing effect of Fear — Analysis of the Fear feeling 
— Fear a habit which may be overcome by simple means — 
Methods of eradicating Fear — Attacking the emotion in its in- 

vii 



viii CONTENTS 

cipiency — The application of suggestion to the task — The in- 
fluence of physical attitude in the effort — Auto-Suggestion one 
of the most powerful aids — Distinction between Fear and 
Timidity — Common causes of Timidity — Abnormal self-esteem 
a frequent cause — Methods of overcoming Timidity — The 
damaging effects of Worry — The effects of morbid emotions 
on the physical system — How to obtain relief from Worry — 
Exercises in overcoming Fear, Timidity and Worry — Books 
on kindred subjects — Review questions. 



Chapter V. Cheerfulness 97 

The Cheerful attitude in everyday life — Cheerfulness one of 
the most easily acquired characteristics — Possibility of its cul- 
tivation under all circumstances — Its influence upon health, 
happiness and business success — Methods of fostering Cheer- 
fulness — The saving grace of humor — Cheerfulness a cumula- 
tive quality — The physiological effect of laughter — Importance 
of not dwelling on errors and failures — Rational philosophy 
without indifference — Advisable to cultivate a reasonable 
egotism — How to withstand the petty frictions of life — The 
art of being agreeable — Exercises in Cheerfulness — Books on 
kindred subjects — Review questions. 

Chapter VI. Poise, Observation, Memory . .114 

Definition of Poise — The need of some definite interest outside 
of business — Growth should be in breadth as well as in height 
— Time devoted to an avocation is well spent — Poise in the 
sense of self-control — Physical conditions conducive to the 
maintenance of Poise — Mental conditions essential to the 
maintenance of Poise — The value of Poise in business life — 
The secret of working hard without hurry — Keen Observation 
an uncommon quality — Developing the power of Observation 
— Practical methods of cultivation — Fallacies with regard to 
Memory — Good Memory a matter of training — It depends 
largely upon interest — The parts played by Concentration and 
Observation in strengthening Memory — Undesirable to load 
the Memory with useless matter — Judgment in the use of note- 
books and memoranda — Methods of training the Memory — 
Exercises in Poise, Observation and Memory — Review ques- 
tions. 



Chapter VII. Purpose, Ideals . . . .132 

A well-defined Purpose and systematic plan for its achieve- 
ment essential to success in life — Illustrations of the effect of 
Purpose in shaping the course of life — Ideals classified and de- 



CONTENTS ix 

fined— The Ultimate Ideal as the guiding star— Contributory 
Ideals made to serve the main Purpose — Lateral Ideals or 
side issues — Important considerations in the formation of 
Ideals — Ambition is to be commended, but Ideals should be 
practical and within the scope of aptitude — Exercises in the 
formation of Purpose and Ideals — Review questions. 



PART II— PHYSICAL EFFICIENCY 
Chapter VIII. Various Phases of Hygiene . . 147 

Suggestions for everyday health practice — Almost all illness 
is avoidable — Ignorance and carelessness the chief causes of 
disease — Steps necessary to the recovery of good health — Ad- 
visability of proceeding gradually — Simple means often suffi- 
cient to remove disorders — How to avoid and how to cure 
colds — Nature's remedies always to be recommended — Causes 
of headaches — Tobacco and alcohol — Posture in standing and 
walking — Eyes, ears, teeth, feet and hands — The man of 
middle age, his complaints and his condition — Books on kin- 
dred subjects — Exercises in physical development and deep 
breathing — Review questions. 



Chapter IX. Food 174 

The value of scientific Food regulation — Many complaints may 
be cured solely by appropriate diet — " We eat too much. We 
eat too fast. We eat without discrimination." — The stomach 
peculiarly susceptible to habit — The functions of Food ex- 
plained — The necessity of knowing Food values — How to plan 
diet reform — Not advisable to make a shibboleth of the matter 
— Indigestion the root of innumerable troubles — Four essential 
needs of the body filled by Food — Classification of Foods — 
The process of nutrition described — Books on kindred subjects 
— Exercise in correct eating — Review questions. 



Chapter X. Exercise 195 

The effect of Exercise on the body — Useless muscular de- 
velopment to be avoided — Exercise should be regulated to the 
needs of the individual — The question is related to the factors 
of food, physique, environment, etc. — Intelligent regulation of 
kind and quantity recommended — Various desirable forms of 
Exercise — The weekly stint should be regarded as extra — 



CONTENTS 

Special needs of Exercise in the winter — The value of engag- 
ing the mind in physical activities — " Never sit when you can 
stand and never ride when you can walk." — Objection to 
calisthenic exercises — Books on kindred subjects — Exercises 
in physical development — Review questions. 



Chapter XL Rest .212 

The harmfulness of the restless condition — The American dis- 
ease of " nerves " — Explanation of the true condition of fatigue 
— Moderate spells of work, alternating with short spells of Rest, 
best method of labor — It is possible to work hard all day and 
finish comparatively fresh — Fatigue often due to other causes 
than overwork — The value of learning to relax at will — Ex- 
cessive fatigue is generally avoidable — Lack of system involves 
waste of energy — Sleep and the sub-conscious mind — Rest and 
quiet advisable before going to bed — Regulation of the indi- 
vidual amount of sleep — Fifteen minute rules of hygiene- 
Exercise in relaxation — Review questions. 



PART IIL— FUNCTIONAL EFFICIENCY 
Chapter XII. Time Consumption . . . .231 

Disposition of Time the primary factor in all achievement — 
The obligation attaching to leisure — The demands of modern 
business necessitate efficiency in private life — The first step in 
reformation is honest and thorough of the conditions to be re- 
formed — " Spare time " is rarely regulated or turned to good 
account — Reducing Time Consumption to a system — Specimen 
schedule to govern a day — Saving time by reduction of waste 
— Principles governing ideal regulation of Time — Systematical 
control of Time entails freedom from harassment — Exercise in 
Time Consumption — Review questions. 



Chapter XIII. Records and Plans . . . 246 

Six essentials in efficient doing — Their interdependence and 
corelation explained — Examples of the universal need for 
Records — Various uses of Records set forth — The psycho- 
logical effect not to be everlooked — Records of the utmost im- 
portance in private affairs — Value of habitually making Plans 
in minor matters — Efficient despatching dependent on prepara- 
tory Plans — Suggestions for applying the principles of Plan- 
ning to the affairs of everyday life — Review questions. 



CONTENTS xi 

Chapter XIV. Scheduling, Despatching, Stand- 
ardizing 258 

Lack of will and perseverance the only difficulties in the way 
of acquiring Functional Efficiency — Schedules and Despatch- 
ing defined and explained in their relations to Time, Stand- 
ards, Plans, etc. — Schedules absolutely essential to system — 
Orderliness of life dependent on prompt Despatching — Life 
filled with good intentions and fine plans wasted for lack of 
execution — Schedules a stimulus to energy and a preventive of 
waste — The ultimate benefits of the course of study and prac- 
tice contained in this volume — Review questions. 

Appendix 269 

Answers to the review questions attached to each chapter. 



SECTION ONE 
Mental Efficiency 



LESSON ONE 

INTRODUCTION 

The first concern of the student will be the prac- 
tical application of this Course. Unless he can 
turn it to account in his vocation he will be apt to 
begrudge the time and effort demanded by it. Let 
us dispose of this question at the outset. 

Personal Efficiency is the mental and physical 
ability to conceive and execute in the easiest, quick- 
est and most economical manner; that is to say, 
in the best way. 

Personal Efficiency is not a system, a discovery, 
nor a fad. It is not even a novelty. Efficiency 
antedates the Creation, and the first six hundred 
words of Genesis describe a wonderful exhibition 
of it. The Administration of Moses was a striking 
illustration of it, the rule of Lycurgus another. 
Stephen Girard, John Wanamaker, Alva Edison 
and thousands of less known men have been shining 
examples of its practice. 

This much is new about Efficiency. Only in 
recent years has it been reduced to a science. When 
any department of knowledge or activity has been 

3 



4 EVERYDAY EFFICIENCY 

so thoroughly studied and analyzed that definite 
principles can be laid down as governing it, then it 
becomes science, which is nothing more nor less 
than verified and systematized knowledge. 

A few men, among whom Harrington Emerson 
was conspicuous, studied Efficiency as exhibited in 
the lives of certain naturally efficient men and de- 
duced the fundamental principles underlying it. 
These they formulated and enunciated, thus giving 
us the science. They did not invent anything, but 
made comprehensible to the common mind truths 
which are as old as the everlasting hills. 

Mechanical Efficiency has long been accepted as 
essential to material development. Human Effi- 
ciency is fast meeting with universal recognition 
and at no distant date will be in equal demand. It 
is true that one occasionally encounters a benighted 
adherent of the discredited rule-of-thumb system 
who pretends to regard Personal Efficiency as a 
fanciful fad. But this attitude, begotten of igno- 
rance or indifference, is becoming daily more rare. 

If the consequence of Personal Efficiency is fit- 
ting thought and action, it follows that the man 
who acquires Efficiency must gain in force, skill 
and capacity. 

There are two distinct, but closely related, phases 
of Personal Efficiency. One of these is general and 
purely personal ; the other, technical or vocational. 



INTRODUCTION 5 

The cultivation of the former is an essential prepa- 
ration for the exercise of the latter. One cannot 
use appliances or methods effectively unless the 
physical and mental faculties necessary to their em- 
ployment have been previously trained. 

Before we can have an Efficient salesman or 
banker, we must have an Efficient MAN. The sub- 
structure of purely personal Efficiency is a pre- 
requisite to vocational Efficiency. Any condition 
which unfavorably affects the physical, mental or 
moral side of a man reacts on his work. This law 
is infallible. The connective influence may not be 
apparent. The man may be utterly unconscious 
of it. Nevertheless, it exists invariably. 

A man's health can not be depressed, his self- 
esteem can not be injured, without his Efficiency 
as a workman suffering in consequence. On the 
other hand, every improvement in the character, 
personality and talents of the individual must be 
reflected in his increased Efficiency as a workman. 

If Personal Efficiency ensures performance in the 
easiest, quickest and most economical way, it fol- 
lows that the efficient man will consume less energy, 
time and material on a task than the inefficient man, 
and execute it in a better manner. And, of course, 
saving of time and energy represents capacity for 
additional work. 

We are beginning to realize that it is not so much 



6 EVERYDAY EFFICIENCY 

the degree of effort as the quality of effort which 
counts. I am acquainted with a business man who 
brought himself to the verge of nervous prostra- 
tion by sheer hard work. He studied the principles 
of Personal Efficiency and in six months was doing 
more work and better work in less time and with 
less effort. This man was quite up to the average 
in business Efficiency. His failure to stand up un- 
der extreme hard work was due to defects in the 
purely personal side of his life — insufficient exercise, 
injudicious diet and ill-regulated sleep. 

This being so, it is evident that the attainment of 
vocational Efficiency may not be sought inde- 
pendently of consideration for purely Personal 
Efficiency. The truth of this statement is illus- 
trated by many men who, despite deep study of the 
theory of salesmanship or the technicalities of some 
other business, fail utterly by reason of personal 
defects. 

It is with the fundamental and general phase of 
Personal Efficiency that this Course will deal. If 
its lessons are absorbed and put into habitual prac- 
tice, the acquisition of vocational Efficiency will 
consist of no more than the mastery of the tech- 
nicalities pertaining to one's business. 

THE EFFICIENT BUSINESS MAN 
In this age there are fewer pawns on the chess- 



INTRODUCTION 7 

board of life. Many more than formerly are exer- 
cising initiative, assuming responsibility, carving 
out careers on independent lines. The solitary 
giants of other days who, by reason of innate 
Efficiency and applied psychology, swayed their 
fellows to their will, have at the present time thou- 
sands of counterparts. But the effect of individual 
superiority is not so great because there are so 
many more major pieces in the game and the pawns 
are no longer mere automata. 

The successful business man, with a few excep- 
tions of conspicuous superiority of character or 
intellect, is differentiated mainly by superior 
Efficiency in comparatively small matters. He ap- 
plies the cardinal principles of Efficiency to the 
details of his work. He cultivates his talents and 
organizes himself. His habits of thought and action 
in business and out of it are such as to promote and 
augment his Efficiency. 

Roosevelt speaks of " two kinds of success, one, 
that of the rare genius, the other, that of the 
ordinary man who does ordinary things a little 
better than his fellows." And, it may be added, 
for every success of the former kind there are ten 
of the latter. The success of the genius is uncer- 
tain at best; that of the efficient man is absolutely 
sure from the moment he initiates his project. 

Too often the seeker after Personal Efficiency 



8 EVERYDAY EFFICIENCY 

applies his efforts in wrong places, as if a man should 
busy himself patching up roof, windows and floors 
of a house whose foundation was caving in. To 
obtain the right view of Personal Efficiency we 
must go down to the roots of the matter and con- 
sider first principles and fundamental conditions. 

Richard Wightman declares : " The big work of 
man is neither masonry, manufacturing, nor mer- 
chandising. It is life itself. Incidentally, there are 
bricks to be laid, wood to be shaped and goods to 
be sold; but these are only jots and tittles in the 
scheme of individual existence. The main thing 
is life itself." Your most important problem is to 
live in the manner most conducive to your own 
benefit and that of others. To do this you must 
have clearly defined principles and ideals, as well as 
rules of conduct based upon them. In short, you 
must order your life by the dictates of Personal 
Efficiency. 

Personal Efficiency is essentially a mental condi- 
tion. It is born in the mind and can only be main- 
tained by mental effort. Self-improvement must 
have for basis a favorable mental attitude and har- 
monious mental habits. We shall find that the 
mind plays an important part in development 
through all the processes of our effort. The effect- 
iveness of all our physical functions is largely de- 
pendent upon our mental state. 



INTRODUCTION 9 

THE SCHEME OF THE COURSE 
Our task will not be one of upbuilding solely. 
In order to develop, a man must eradicate such 
qualities in his moral and mental make-up as inter- 
fere with his best growth. In order to progress 
toward success he must remove those factors in his 
personality which create friction and so obstruct 
the pursuit of his purpose. So, eradication should 
go hand in hand with development, just as weeding 
takes place with hoeing in the cultivation of plants. 
In the first part of this Course we shall consider 
methods for the acquisition and extension of such 
mental qualities as Will, Courage, Concentration, 
Purpose, Poise, Observation and Cheerfulness. 
The second part will be devoted to physical im- 
provement and preventive hygiene. In the third 
part the application of the principles of Personal 
Efficiency will be treated under a variety of head- 
ings, such as Time Consumption, Plans, Schedules, 
Despatching, Standard Operations and Conditions. 
Nothing could be more simple than Personal 
Efficiency. A statement of its nature and manner 
of acquisition may be made clear to the most or- 
dinary understanding. Nor are the methods and 
practices necessary to its cultivation difficult to 
carry out. For all that, the acquirement of Per- 
sonal Efficiency is not a matter to be lightly esti- 



io EVERYDAY EFFICIENCY 

mated. It involves the exercise of Will, Persever- 
ance, Self-Denial and Discipline. 

The price demanded is insignificant compared 
with the reward of achievement. The student must 
bear in mind that the point at issue is not only his 
career as a business man, but his entire success in 
life. The attainment of ability to exercise approxi- 
mately 100 per cent of his potential Efficiency will 
lift him out of the crowded ranks of mediocrity and 
give him place with the markedly successful. Within 
practical limits he may aspire to any goal, with 
reasonable assurance of realization. 

SUGGESTIONS FOR STUDY 
Now I will give you some suggestions for study- 
ing these lessons. 

To begin with, obtain from any stationer the 
Yawman and Erbe " Handy Cloth Box, No. 18," as 
well as a supply of cards and guides to fit; say 250 
of the former and 50 of the latter. 

As you read the lessons mark the portions which 
impress you most or which you especially desire to 
remember. This marking can never be done with 
the best effect at a first reading. Transfer the 
marked passages, with brief headings for guides, to 
cards — no more than one subject to a card — and file 
them in your box, which we will call your " Per- 
sonal Efficiency File." 



INTRODUCTION n 

You may ask, what is to be gained by the repro- 
duction of material that you already have in the 
lesson pamphlet? There are several advantages of 
which I will mention but the chief. 1. By detach- 
ing a statement or expression from the body of the 
text you immediately give it peculiar prominence 
in your mind. 2. By writing it out you impress it 
upon your memory. 3. The suggested method will 
collect the cream of the lesson and enable you to 
review all or any portion of it without going through 
the context. 4. The detachment of the subjects 
will facilitate the addition of notes or memoranda. 

Your guide cards may be arranged under the 
headings of lessons, subjects, or both, as you find 
most convenient. In any case, when you read a 
lesson a section of the file should at once be opened 
up for it. The first card in this section should 
contain the number of the lesson, the main topic 
and subdivisions, date of beginning study, the 
specific periods devoted to the study of the lesson 
and other data of similar character which you may 
wish to preserve. 

You may not readily see the value of some of 
these directions, but as you progress with the 
Course you will discover that they involve several 
of the principles of Personal Efficiency and are ex- 
cellent practice for you. 

Your file will not be a mere collection of quota- 



12 EVERYDAY EFFICIENCY 

tions and record of details. These will be but the 
foundation on which to build a mass of material 
that will be of the utmost practical use to you. On 
subjecting your extracts to reflection, ideas of your 
own will be evolved and should be added to your 
file. Personal experiences in the same connection 
should also be recorded. Pertinent information and 
suggestions gathered from books or other sources 
will add to your data. From time to time the 
lessons will impose exercises of various kinds. The 
results of these must be carefully recorded. With- 
out the employment of records you can not put 
forth your utmost effort, mental or physical. In 
order to do so you must have a definite achieve- 
ment which it is your aim to surpass. 

As the lessons progress I shall give you further 
directions for the use of your Personal Efficiency 
File. 



REVIEW QUESTIONS 

I 

i. Define Personal Efficiency. 

2. What advantages would you derive from the ap- 
plication of the principles of Personal Efficiency to 
the performance of a task? 



INTRODUCTION 13 

3. Name two distinct phases of Personal Efficiency. 

4. What connection exists between these two phases? 

5. What chiefly differentiates the successful business 
man? 

6. What is the most important problem imposed upon 
every individual? 

7. Name the two lines of endeavor embraced in Self- 
Improvement. 

8. What important qualities are involved in the cultiva- 
tion of Personal Efficiency? 

9. What are the bearing and influence of Personal 
Efficiency on your work? 

10. What are the chief advantages of keeping the sug- 
gested card file ? 



LESSON TWO 

SUGGESTION 

We are making Suggestion the starting point in 
this course of study and practice, because Sugges- 
tion is the most powerful factor in our mental 
processes and consequently exerts a great influence 
over our physical actions. 

Unless you have directed thought and observa- 
tion to the subject, you will be apt to question this 
proposition. You may contend that reasoning is 
the most potent factor in your mental processes, not 
realizing to how large an extent your reasoning is 
based on premises which have no other foundation 
than Suggestion. The reading of this chapter, how- 
ever, will satisfy you that the statement advanced 
in the foregoing paragraph is sound. 

WHAT IS SUGGESTION? 
Before proceeding farther, let us establish a work- 
ing definition of Suggestion. A determination of 
just what we mean by the word is essential to an 
intelligent discussion of the subject. 

The dictionary definition of " Suggestion " is, in 

14 



SUGGESTION 15 

part, as follows : " The imparting or exciting of a 
notion or idea in an indirect or unobtrusive way; 
a hint, intimation or insinuation; the spontaneous 
calling up of an idea in the mind by a connected 
idea." This is acceptable, as far as it goes, but 
not sufficiently comprehensive for our purpose. 

By modern psychologists the word Suggestion 
is given a more extended meaning. It is held to 
imply impressions made upon the mind through 
the agency of gestures, signs and facial expression; 
by physical sensations and physical objects. It is 
also employed to indicate direct statements, and 
especially repetitions, the influence of which is de- 
rived from the supposed authority of the source. 

Atkinson says: "When an idea is placed in the 
mind of a person by Suggestion, it is always placed 
there by one of the following three general methods : 

1. Suggestion by means of impressing the fact upon the 
mind by firm, authoritative statements, repetitions, etc., 
in which the suggestion acts as a die upon the molten 
wax ; or 

2. Suggestion by means of inducing the idea in the 
mind by indirect insinuation, hint, casual mention, etc., by 
which the mind is caught off its guard, and the instinctive 
resistance of the will is escaped ; or 

3. Suggestion, generally along the lines of association, 
in which outward appearances, objects, environment, etc., 
act to both impress and induce the idea into the mind." 



16 EVERYDAY EFFICIENCY 

This point is to be particularly noted. Whether 
it is caused by indirect means, by authoritative 
statement, by association of ideas, or by physical 
impressions, a Suggestion is an idea induced in the 
mind by influences independent of the employment 
of reason, demonstration or proof. 

THE FIELD OF SUGGESTION 
After infancy we are incapable of an absolutely 
original or elementary idea. Turn your mind on 
any subject and you must bring to bear upon it 
thoughts which are not unique and new-born, but 
which emanate from the immeasurable stock of 
ideas, notions and conceptions with which the brain 
is charged. From what are these pre-existed ideas 
derived? Some from actual knowledge, but by far 
the larger part of them from Suggestion. 

If you should subject your beliefs, opinions and 
prejudices to examination you would discover that 
but a small proportion of them have foundations of 
ascertained fact or cold reason. Indeed, you would 
probably be completely at a loss to determine the 
origin of some of your strongest convictions. 

We are as constantly exposed to Suggestions as 
we are to bacteria, and, as few of us exercise any 
control in the matter, we are as unconscious of the 
former's lodgment in our mind as we are of the 
latter's entrance to our body. After a while these 



SUGGESTION 17 

influences exhibit in mental expressions or physical 
symptoms without our having any knowledge of 
the causes. 

It is evident that we receive our mental impres- 
sions from thousands of suggestive sources, and 
vastly more of them in that manner than through 
direct or definite agencies. Suggestions are con- 
veyed by hint, intimation, insinuation; by gesture, 
look and attitude. They are induced by partial 
statement, incidental allusion, illustration and ques- 
tion. They are derived from all kinds of con- 
ditions and things. Inferences are generally in 
the nature of Suggestions, rather than positive de- 
ductions. Suggestions are spontaneously set up 
by the Association of Ideas. 

At every moment of the day you are subject to 
Suggestions. Some of these you reject and others 
you accept. Your action in this respect is usually 
governed by pre-disposition, unaffected by reason, 
or calculation. You are constantly gaining im- 
pressions through Suggestion. And, meanwhile, 
you are constantly thinking and acting under the 
influence of Suggestions previously received; 

Walter Dill Scott says : " Man has been called 
the reasoning animal, but he could, with greater 
truthfulness, be called the creature of suggestion. 
He is reasonable, but he is to a greater extent 
suggestible." 



18 EVERYDAY EFFICIENCY 

THE SEAT OF SUGGESTION 

" Of all the laws of the human mind, the law of 
suggestion is the most important/' declares Hud- 
son, one of our leading psychologists. " Man is 
endowed with a dual mind, objective and subjective. 
The subjective mind controls the functions, sensa- 
tions and conditions of the body. The subjective 
mind is amenable to control by suggestion." 

The existence of the subjective or Sub-Conscious 
Mind is an established scientific fact and every per- 
son can find ample evidence of it in his own ex- 
perience. Furthermore, it is an accepted fact that 
mind is resident in every cell of the body and that 
these " cell-minds " are connected with or are parts 
of the Sub-Conscious Mind. 

In case these statements are new or strange to 
you, I can not too strongly assert that they are the 
expression of cold scientific conclusions. There is 
nothing mystical or fanciful about them. As we 
progress we shall discover their practical applica- 
tion to the purposes we have in view. 

To quote Dr. Max Eastman : " The Law of Sug- 
gestion, which is one of the greatest discoveries of 
modern science, was first formulated by Dr. Lie- 
bault, at Paris, in a book published in 1866. Since 
his day the number of physicians who practice ' sug- 
gestive therapeutics ' has steadily increased, until 



SUGGESTION 19 

to-day no thoroughly clinical hospital is without a 
professional suggestionist. * * * It is one of 
the simplest and coolest of scientific theories. It 
is a question of the relation between the brain and 
the bodily organs. * * * The attempt to fix 
an idea in the mind without reason is suggestion. 
* * * This force, together with the power which is 
revealed in a man of correcting his own mental habits, 
is the greatest practical discovery of modern 
psychology." 

The seat of Suggestion is the Sub-Conscious 
Mind. It is in this region that Suggestion is re- 
ceived, developed and assimilated by the mental 
system. 

THE POWER OF SUGGESTION 
The power of Suggestion for good or evil is ex- 
tremely great because its application is practically 
limitless, and because we are all highly susceptible 
to its effects. A strong and persistent Suggestion 
will sometimes overcome the dictates of logic and 
reason. An able lawyer in Paris grew interested 
in re-incarnation and read everything upon the 
subject which he could obtain. After a while he 
became obsessed of the idea that he had previ- 
ously lived in the person of Charles Martel. 
Otherwise perfectly sane, this man retained his 
strange delusion to the day of his death. A soldier 



20 EVERYDAY EFFICIENCY 

came under my observation in India who was 
haunted by fear of cholera and possessed by a con- 
viction that he would die of the disease. One night 
he was carried to the hospital exhibiting pronounced 
symptoms of cholera and died, a typical case, so 
far as the medical diagnosis went. And yet, in- 
vestigation proved that the man had not been 
exposed to infection and no other case developed 
in the regiment at the time, which was in itself an 
unparalleled condition. 

Repeatedly read the circular of a patent nostrum 
and you will almost certainly display some of the 
symptoms described in it, although you were pre- 
viously in perfect health. And this, despite the fact 
that the objective mind, and the allied reasoning 
faculties, protest against the acceptance of the 
quack doctrine. 

Certain medicines, containing nothing more potent 
than gentian or sugar, and certain appliances, such 
as electric belts and metallic finger rings, are un- 
questionably effective in curing disease. Two facts 
are absolutely established in these cases, — first, that 
the medium has no inherent therapeutic quality and, 
second, that it has effected true cures. Where are 
we to find the solution to this paradox? In the 
power of Suggestion to be sure. 

It is safe to say that with most men the greater 
part of the Suggestions received are harmful in 



SUGGESTION 21 

their effect. This because most men absorb Sug- 
gestions as they take in air, without any volitional 
or discretionary action. And because by far the 
greater proportion of casual Suggestions is of a 
harmful nature. 

To take a familiar illustration: The average man 
reads the newspaper with a neutral mind, if not 
one actually predisposed to the acceptance of any- 
thing that he may find in the sheet. At least half 
the matter in a newspaper is distinctly harmful in 
its Suggestion and much of the other half, ques- 
tionable. Here you have a prime cause of the 
fallacies, sophistries and shallow opinions that are 
commonly current. Here, also, you find an ex- 
planation of epidemics of certain kinds of crime, of 
certain social follies and certain senseless fads. 

By favorable adjustment of your environment, 
physical and intellectual, you may minimize your 
exposure to undesirable Suggestions and increase 
your exposure to beneficial Suggestions. For ex- 
ample, you may choose your associates and your 
books with this end in view. By training you may 
habituate your mind to avoid and repel harmful 
Suggestions, whilst it seeks and accepts those of a 
contrary character. The accomplishment of this 
object will necessitate watchful discrimination at 
the outset, but continued practice will result in in- 
stinctive mental action. 



22 EVERYDAY EFFICIENCY 

There are certain Suggestions, good and bad to 
which you are regularly or frequently subject. 
You should have a clear idea of these so that you 
may exercise deliberate control over them. Take 
an early opportunity to think about the matter. 
Write your findings on cards and make them part 
of the records of your Personal Efficiency File. 
This is to be considered a stated exercise in con- 
nection with the lesson. It is an essential part of 
a plan of practice which will be gradually unfolded 
to you. 

The subject of Records will be treated extensively 
in the Section of the Course relating to Functional 
Efficiency. It will then be seen that, aside from 
their obvious and ordinary utility, Records exercise 
most important psychological influences and pro- 
duce effects which would be quite impossible with- 
out their employment. 

AUTO-SUGGESTION 
The most direct and effective mode of Suggestion 
is Auto-Suggestion. This is neither more nor less 
than Suggestion conveyed to Self by Self. Sug- 
gestion and Auto-Suggestion differ only in source 
of origin. In principle and effect they are the same. 
Auto-Suggestion is naturally more readily directed 
and controlled than any other form of Suggestion. 
This, as I shall indicate more specifically pres- 



SUGGESTION 23 

ently, makes it an agency of inestimable value and 
power. 

By insistence that you are looking ill I can, in 
time, make you look and feel so. You may produce 
the same result more readily by similar thought 
originating in your own mind. If I should seriously 
intimate to you daily for a month that I believe you 
to be strong-willed, you would gradually come to 
share my belief and — which is of practical ac- 
count — your strength of will would actually in- 
crease. But you could produce precisely the same 
effect, and probably in greater degree, by Auto- 
suggestion, that is, by constantly affirming that 
you are strong-willed. 

The Sub-Conscious Mind plays an extremely im- 
portant part in this connection. " There exists in 
all intellectual endeavor," says Jastrow, " a period 
of incubation, a process in great part sub-conscious, 
a slow, concealed maturing through absorption of 
suitable pabulum. Schopenhauer calls it * uncon- 
scious rumination,' a chewing over and over again 
of the cud of thought preparatory to its assimila- 
tion with our mental tissue; another speaks of it 
as the red glow that precedes the white heat." 

" The subjective mind will feed upon and create 
from the material given it by the will," declares 
Olston. The effect upon you of Suggestion by me 
or by yourself will not be limited to the moment 



24 EVERYDAY EFFICIENCY 

each day when the mind is directed consciously to 
the matter, but it will be working and growing con- 
stantly. This, because when a seed has been 
planted in the Sub-Conscious Mind the process of 
germination and growth goes on without any 
realization on your part except in so far as you 
infer it from manifest result. The plant will need 
occasional tending, just as the farmer's corn does, 
but the development will proceed in one case as in 
the other whilst no attention is being paid to it. 

Here, then, is an agency that is limitless in its 
scope and effect, and one which may be made the 
means of exercising the most extensive influence 
upon your personality. As has already been said, 
we are constantly subjected to Suggestion or exert- 
ing it upon others, but for the most part in a hap- 
hazard or accidental manner. If we should learn 
the principles governing this agency and adopt 
methods of intelligent application, we would have a 
very powerful force at our command for the pro- 
motion of all desirable purposes. 

THE PRACTICAL ASPECT 
The foregoing explanation was necessary to an 
understanding of the nature of Suggestion and an 
appreciation of its practical application to our pur- 
poses. Here we shall deal with Suggestion only in 
so far as it may be made an aid to your Self-Im- 



SUGGESTION 25 

provement. With extended experience, however, 
you will learn to appreciate it as a means of in- 
fluencing others. 

Personal Efficiency is essentially a mental atti- 
tude. " As a man thinketh in his heart, so is he." 
The most potent and practical agency in the de- 
velopment of the necessary mental condition is 
Suggestion. 

The basis of Personal Efficiency must be Person- 
ality. You can not achieve Efficiency merely by 
the practice of certain rules and methods, as you 
might perform bookkeeping or carpentry. Func- 
tional Efficiency is merely the application of prin- 
ciples in the manner prompted by the efficient 
mental state. Nor can you assume the qualities 
essential to Efficiency, if they are not actually parts 
of your Personality. The spirit of Efficiency is its 
mainspring and motive power. In short, Func- 
tional Efficiency is impossible without Mental 
Efficiency. 

Our basic purpose, then, must be the creation of 
an efficient Personality. This will be a process of 
development and eradication. We must foster 
certain qualities and suppress certain others. Our 
aim will be the attainment of certain ideals or 
standards of character by Self-Improvement. 

In succeeding pages the mental qualities essen- 
tial to Personal Efficiency will be considered. The 



26 EVERYDAY EFFICIENCY 

treatment must necessarily be general and I can 
not offer detailed solution of the individual prob- 
lem, because each case will present somewhat 
different conditions. I shall, however, aid the 
individual in handling his particular case by enunci- 
ating principles of universal application and sug- 
gesting methods of universal efficacy. 

SELF-ANALYSIS 

Have you ever made a Self- Analysis? If not, it 
is high time that you discovered your real self. If 
the present Course should do no more than induce 
you to take this step, it would confer a lifelong 
benefit, the value of which you can not now ap- 
preciate. 

It is an amazing fact that millions of men have 
better knowledge of their friends' characters than 
of their own. The average person goes through 
life without ever becoming really acquainted with 
himself. Your wife or intimate associate knows 
you better than you know yourself and could sur- 
prise you with revelations of traits or dispositions 
of which you are, perhaps, entirely unconscious. 

The value of Self-Analysis is beyond estimation. 
For our immediate purpose it consists in enabling 
you to learn what you are and to determine what 
you wish to be. In other words, to ascertain your 
present Personality and to form an ideal of the 



SUGGESTION 27 

Personality you desire to build up by Self-Improve- 
ment. 

The task must be undertaken in a spirit of hon- 
esty and frankness, and performed thoroughly. 
The object is to obtain a definite idea of the man 
you actually are and the manner of man you pur- 
pose becoming. This Self-Analysis will yield the 
most valuable knowledge you can possibly possess. 

Carefully write on cards and record in your Per- 
sonal Efficiency File the conclusions of your Self- 
Analysis and also a statement of your ideal Per- 
sonality. Correct conclusions and clear conceptions 
are of the utmost consequence in this connection. 
It is upon this basis that we shall build in our effort 
for Self-Improvement. 

Your Self-Analysis and determination of an ideal 
Personality to be striven after will give individual 
direction to the advice and instruction imparted by 
the lessons. I shall suggest exercises, practices 
and methods of a general character. It will remain 
for you to apply these in the manner most suitable 
to your particular needs. 

METHOD OF SELF-IMPROVEMENT 
I have said that the process of Self-Improve- 
ment is one of development and eradication. We 
shall find it desirable to develop certain qualities 
and to eradicate certain others. But in many in- 



28 EVERYDAY EFFICIENCY 

stances we shall find that the most effective results 
may be secured by the operation conjointly of 
development and eradication, one acting as an 
auxiliary to the other. 

How can you most effectually destroy a habit or 
condition? By setting up a counter-habit or con- 
dition. This is a simple truth, but one frequently 
overlooked. How often one sees a man seriously 
attempting to check a vice and entirely neglecting 
the great aid to be derived from the cultivation of 
the opposite virtue. In the application of Sugges- 
tion we shall find it necessary to bear in mind this 
principle of counter-action. 

Let us suppose that you are afflicted with the 
characteristic of Grouchiness and wish to eradicate 
it. If your purpose goes no farther, the attainment 
of it will land you in the negative condition of non- 
Grouchiness. In your state of reform you will no 
longer be grouchy, but your attitude toward your 
fellows will be neutral, cold, indifferent. 

Clearly, your object at the outset should be to 
swing from one positive point to the other, through 
the entire arc of the pendulum, and not stop at the 
negative point, half-way. But the main considera- 
tion in our present enquiry is that by beginning at 
once to cultivate the quality of Cordiality, you will 
more quickly and more easily overcome your 
Grouchiness. 



SUGGESTION 29 

Haddock, in The Personal Atmosphere, makes the 
following statement, which you are urged to read 
with the closest attention : 

" We are creatures of habit, and habit has always to do 
with the sub-conscious or deeper self, as shown in the 
automatic action of the physical organs, as shown also in 
acquired and established ways of doing things which 
originally demanded Will. The deeper self, in the latter 
instances, comes at last to direct the necessary move- 
ments without our being aware of the fact. But we have 
habits of feeling and thought as well. These also have 
come under the sway of the sub-conscious self. If our 
physical movements and mental states and actions are 
habitually right it is because the deeper self has been 
instructed thus to take charge of these matters. 

" That self will do as we ourselves command. When 
we resolutely assume right, agreeable, ideal feelings, reso- 
lutely assume right, true, ideal thoughts, we instruct the 
deeper self to form corresponding habits and in time we 
actually feel and think as assumed. Then we become 
what we have assumed, felt, thought. And so, finally, 
we develop the Personal Atmospheres indicated by such 
feelings and thoughts. The inner attitude, at first as- 
sumed, and continually asserted, then becomes real, or at 
least actually realized, has transformed us. This is the 
law. It is infallible." 

Haddock goes on to state that " Character is the 
sum total of traits and qualities acquired by the use 
or modification of original endowments. Nature is 



30 EVERYDAY EFFICIENCY 

the force with or against which every individual 
must work in determination of his Character.'* 
The predominant characteristics of the Ideal Per- 
sonality are enumerated as follows: Health, Self- 
Control, Intelligence, Talent, Education, Will, 
Energy, Love, Pride, Hope, Cheerfulness, Faith, 
Benevolence, Justice, Truth, Moral Purpose. 

" These Atmospheres may be created and might- 
ily urged to attract their kind and to repel their 
opposites. If you will take these words just above, 
one at a time, and make each for a day, or longer, 
the center of thought and feeling, wherever you 
are, whatever you may be doing, seeking to know 
all its meaning, trying to make it a part of yourself, 
you will unfailingly develop its corresponding 
quality, that is, a strong and good Personal At- 
mosphere. Sink them into the latent mind. So, 
also, the Atmospheres represented by the opposite 
set of qualities may be gradually eliminated from 
your life by resolute and persistent exertion of the 
Will. But this is to be accomplished, not by think- 
ing of the qualities and trying to repel them, but by 
dwelling upon their opposites. ,, 

To summarize : In the formation of the Ideal 
Personality the first step is to have a clear con- 
ception of it and the quality-elements of which it is 
to be composed. Next, we are to formulate a sys- 
tem of developing the desired qualities and of 



SUGGESTION 31 

stimulating their persistence until they become 
assimilated in our established mental habit. Finally, 
we must constantly foster the acquired qualities by 
frequently furnishing them with what Jastrow 
terms " suitable pabulum," that is, fit food for nour- 
ishment. 



DIRECTIVE USE OF SUGGESTION 
Now we will consider the chief sources of Sug- 
gestion and illustrate various ways in which you 
may turn Suggestion to practical account in the 
furtherance of your effort at Self-Improvement. 
Other methods, perhaps more suitable to your indi- 
vidual purposes, will doubtless occur to you on 
reflection. Indeed, I must confine myself to the 
briefest hints and trust you to pursue the matter 
farther with intelligent thought. 

We may accept Atkinson's classification of the 
channels through which Suggestion is conveyed as 
sound and sufficiently comprehensive. It is as fol- 
lows : " 1. The Suggestion of Authority. 2. The 
Suggestion of Association. 3. The Suggestion of 
Habit. 4. The Suggestion of Repetition. 5. The 
Suggestion of Imitation." 

Suggestion by Authority. This may be derived 
from spoken or written statement, the authorship of 
which you believe to be reliable and trustworthy, 



32 EVERYDAY EFFICIENCY 

but at the same time you have no solid ground for 
the belief. A man speaks with an air of authority 
and assurance, perhaps prefacing his statement 
with " It is a well known fact," and you accept his 
" say-so " without question. When the statement 
is made in print, the suggestive effect of supposed 
authority is even greater. 

Suggestion by Authority is extensively harmful 
in its influence, but you may make it an agency for 
your benefit. This may be done by adopting a 
questioning attitude and rejecting Suggestions that 
do not meet with the endorsement of your reason 
and those that emanate from sources in which you 
have not good ground for faith. This is merely the 
negative phase of the process and will only have the 
effect of guarding you from undesirable Suggestion. 
There is a positive phase which will operate as a 
powerful factor in character building. 

You will come into contact with, and should dili- 
gently seek, persons and authors in whose authority 
you have good reason to put faith. Associate with 
such persons and read the writings of such authors, 
throwing the mind open without question to Sug- 
gestion from them. Encourage the free reception 
by your mind of Suggestion by Authority from 
sound sources. 

This topic, as well as each of the other divisions 
of Suggestion, is to be made the subject of definite 



SUGGESTION 33 

thought. Determine, by reflection, what are the 
channels through which you at present receive 
Suggestion by Authority, separating the good from 
the bad and valueless influence. Endeavor, at the 
same time, to think of really authoritative sources 
from which you may derive beneficial Suggestion. 
Deposit your findings in the Personal Efficiency 
File. You will have occasion to add to them from 
time to time. These and similar records will prove 
very valuable to you in the study of these lessons 
and the practice of the auxiliary exercises. 

Suggestion by Association. An enormous num- 
ber of Suggestions come to us through this chan- 
nel. Many of our most confirmed prejudices have 
no sounder basis. Our attitude toward present 
circumstances is frequently influenced by an 
illogical association with past experience. A man 
is cheated by a Turk and ever after entertains an 
unreasoning distrust of Turks. A chance specula- 
tion in stocks turns out fortunately and the gainer 
is disposed thereafter to look upon the stock market 
as a favorable field of enterprise. 

The process of reasoning is constantly impaired 
by the influence of associated ideas. They should 
be carefully scrutinized to see that they do not 
interfere with good judgment. It is almost im- 
possible to avoid their intrusion to the consideration 
of any abstract matter and the only safe course is to 



34 EVERYDAY EFFICIENCY 

compel them to show credentials and to justify their 
presence in the court of reason. 

Suggestion by Association may be made a great 
aid to you in the endeavor for Self-Improvement. 
Professor James strongly recommends its employ- 
ment as a medium for sustaining interest in a pro- 
longed effort. For example, you are striving to 
cultivate Cheerfulness. Enumerate specifically the 
pleasures and advantages you may expect to derive 
from the possession of this quality. By linking it 
up with the accessory benefits you secure the effect 
of what psychologists call the " summation of 
stimuli." Whenever you think of Cheerfulness, the 
subsidiary pleasures and advantages will be brought 
to mind by the association of ideas, affording you 
increased interest and incentive. 

Frequently you have a choice of associated ideas, 
but, unless you exercise control in the matter, the 
less desirable idea is apt to assert itself. You have 
an engagement with the dentist and associate it 
with the idea of pain. A little effort would enable 
you to substitute for this idea that of the comfort 
and relief you will enjoy after the extraction of the 
bad tooth. Most undesirable associated ideas ad- 
mit of similar substitution. The scope of Sugges- 
tion by Association is limitless and I urge you to 
think out various ways in which you can turn it to 
your advantage. 



SUGGESTION 35 

Suggestion of Habit is one of the strongest in- 
fluences for good or evil to which you are subject. 
Habit controls a very large proportion of our mental 
and physical activities. Habitual action is the 
easiest, most economical and, when based on right 
principles, the most satisfactory. A Habit may be 
formed with much more facility than it can be 
broken. Indeed, many of our Habits are acquired 
almost unconsciously, so strong is the effect of a 
few repetitions of the same act. 

Whilst you should be constantly on your guard 
against the insidious formation of bad Habits, the 
establishment of good ones is the more important 
concern. The process is simple, but requires the 
exercise of Will. In order to acquire a Habit, 
physical or mental, deliberately, you must first get 
a clear conception of it by concentrated thought. 
Then practice it at every opportunity, allowing no 
exception whatever in the early stages. By degrees 
the Sub-Conscious Mind will take the matter in 
charge and ultimately performance will become 
automatic. 

As a preliminary to the systematic use of this 
agency make a mental survey of your present 
Habits with a view to determining which of them 
it is desirable to eradicate. Remember that the 
easiest and most effective method of destroying a 
Habit is by counter-action, that is, by setting up a 



36 EVERYDAY EFFICIENCY 

Habit of contrary character. In some instances it 
will be practically impossible to extinguish a Habit 
without forming its opposite. For example, you 
can not overcome the Habit of Procrastination 
without creating the Habit of Dispatch. In other 
cases it will be possible, as I have already pointed 
out, to eradicate a Habit and create a neutral con- 
dition. 

You will find records of the utmost assistance in 
these tasks. In fact, you can not achieve any con- 
siderable success without employing them. Let us 
assume that you are endeavoring to rid yourself of 
a Habit of Brusqueness and at the same time to 
cultivate a Habit of Cordiality. Your undertaking 
has two distinct phases, because there is a middle 
ground — cold Courtesy — between the contemplated 
conditions. 

Take a card from your File supply, and rule it off 
in a number of columns running lengthwise. At 
the head of each column place the letters B and C 
alternately. Each time that your habitual tendency 
to be Brusque arises record your action. If you fail 
to check it at all insert O in the column under B. 
If you do suppress the impulse, more or less, use 
the percentages 25, 50, 75 and 100 to indicate the 
degree of your success. Whenever you credit your- 
self with 100 per cent in a B column you should be 
able to enter some percentage in the next column 



SUGGESTION 37 

under C, to testify that you not only entirely over- 
came the objectionable disposition on the occasion 
in question, but also displayed to some extent the 
desirable quality of Cordiality. 

Suggestion by Repetition. This is not to be con- 
fused with the preceding form of Suggestion. Sug- 
gestion of Habit is derived from the accustomed 
repetition of a thought or act by the person in- 
fluenced. Suggestion of Repetition gains its influ- 
ence from the Repetition of a Suggestion, emanat- 
ing from some other person, or from some object. 
It may also be effected by repeated Self-Sugges- 
tion. 

A common illustration of Suggestion by Repe- 
tition is the advertisement which gradually over- 
comes one's indifference by the constant recurrence 
of its appearance. Sales canvasses afford numerous 
illustrations of this form of Suggestion exercised by 
one person upon another. 

In all cases of Suggestion by Repetition the final 
result is produced by the cumulative effect or in- 
fluence. Provided no opposition is exerted, Repeti- 
tion will, sooner or later, implant the Suggestion in 
the mind. The same result will frequently be 
attained by the force of Repetition upon a mind 
distinctly unfavorable to the reception of the Sug- 
gestion. 

To quote Atkinson : " The whole matter is un- 



38 EVERYDAY EFFICIENCY 

derstood when one begins to understand the nature 
of the sub-conscious mind and the region of the 
memory. In these regions of the mind there is 
preserved a mental record or impression of each 
thing that comes to the attention of the person, and 
these impressions are strengthened by each repeti- 
tion. The realization of this law gives us the key 
to the development of the memory, and also to the 
understanding of Suggestion of Repetition. The 
process and the rule is the same in both cases." 

The statements relating to Suggestion in general, 
with which the lesson opened, may be advanta- 
geously re-read in this connection. If the student is 
to be alert in the detection and examination of all 
Suggestions, he should be doubly alive to Sugges- 
tions by Repetition, on account of their insidious 
and powerful effect. Some of the Suggestions of 
this character are to be antagonized to the utmost. 
The most effective way of avoiding their influence 
is to place oneself beyond the reach of their action. 
On the other hand, when beneficial effects can be 
secured through Suggestion by Repetition, the 
fullest advantage should be taken of the agency 
because of its extraordinary potency. To illustrate : 
On your way to the office of a morning you pass a 
certain shop which suggests an extravagance in 
which you ought not to indulge. Cut off the sug- 
gestion by taking a different route. Again: You 



SUGGESTION 39 

read a book which excites mental impulses favor- 
able to character upbuilding. Repeat the experi- 
ence. Read the book again and again at intervals 
until Suggestion by Repetition converts the im- 
pressions into habit-thought, firmly lodged in the 
Sub-Conscious Mind. 

Suggestion of Imitation is much more influential 
than we would readily admit. In fact, life with 
most of us is largely a game of " follow my leader." 
We are so imitative, we act and think so uniformly 
alike, that a man who exhibits any degree of orig- 
inality or individuality is apt to incur the charge of 
being " eccentric." The natural tendency to imita- 
tion which man perhaps inherits from his simian 
ancestors, is aggravated by mental indolence, which 
is almost an equally common trait. 

In matters of little consequence it is almost 
certain that the average man will be influenced by 
any example that may be presented to him at the 
moment of action. Three strangers are about to 
take a street car. The first boards it at the for- 
ward end, say. The odds are considerable that the 
other two will follow him, and that, though their 
more convenient course would be to go to the rear. 
A man goes into a restaurant, reads the bill of fare, 
glances at the food which is being eaten by a per- 
son near him, and orders the same dish. This 
imitative tendency is highly infectious. A crowd 



4 o EVERYDAY EFFICIENCY 

steps off a ferry-boat Let one start to run and he 
will be followed by others in gradually increasing 
numbers, although not one in ten of the imitators, 
it is safe to surmise, has any reasonable cause for 
haste. 

With only little less force and frequency the same 
trait exhibits in mental action. Your companion 
is depressed or exhilarated and in a short while you 
will find yourself sharing his mood. A friend ex- 
presses indignation about a matter of which we 
have no real knowledge and, from a neutral mental 
attitude, we readily change to one in sympathy with 
his. Suggestion by Authority often operates to 
stimulate Suggestion of Imitation. We will imitate 
habits and opinions of men for whom we have par- 
ticular respect, without using any judgment in the 
matter. 

So receptive are we, in fact, to Suggestion of 
Imitation that we yield to it extensively without 
consciousness. We have all experienced the sur- 
prise of suddenly finding ourselves using gestures, 
intonations, facial expressions and tricks of speech 
picked up without realization from associates. 
Suggestion of Imitation is also powerfully con- 
veyed through the medium of print, and especially 
by newspapers, which are the sole literary diet 
of large numbers of comparatively weak-minded 
persons. 



SUGGESTION 41 

With regard to this form of Suggestion the ad- 
vice must be similar to that already given. Keep 
a watch on your imitative tendencies. Do not 
consciously imitate the thoughts or actions of 
others, nor respond to the Suggestion or Imitation 
conveyed by books, newspapers, moving pictures or 
other inanimate agencies without obtaining the 
approval of your reason. On the other hand, when 
the source of the Suggestion is beneficent, use the 
natural inclination toward Imitation to your ad- 
vantage. For example, it would be the part of 
wisdom to profit by the Suggestion of Imitation 
arising from a good biography, such as that of 
Benjamin Franklin. When you can enjoy associa- 
tion with a man of high character and strong in- 
tellect, throw your mind open receptively to the 
influence of his example. 

Suggestion is a great force for good or evil. Its 
extensive effect is due to the prevalent neutral or 
indifferent condition of mind. In order to minimize 
the bad influences and amplify the good influ- 
ences of Suggestion we must acquire a wide- 
awake and discriminating habit of regarding 
it in all its forms. We must learn to scrutinize 
effects and question their causes. By thus gaining 
intelligent control of Suggestion we shall come into 
possession of a medium which may be employed 
more extensively and more effectively than any 



42 EVERYDAY EFFICIENCY 

other in Self -Improvement and Character Forma- 
tion. 

AUTO-SUGGESTION OR SELF-SUGGESTION 
You will readily understand that Auto-Suggestion 
differs from other forms of Suggestion only in the 
medium of application. Practically all forms of 
Suggestion may be conveyed by Self and impressed 
on Self. This is the most effective of all methods 
of conveyance because most subject to control and 
direction. It is the most powerful agency at your 
command for cultivation of Character and Self-Im- 
provement. 

If you will re-read the advice given for the prac- 
tical employment of other forms of Suggestion you 
will find that most of it applies, with slight modifi- 
cation, to the use of Self-Suggestion. It is especially 
important that you should exercise discrimination 
and careful scrutiny in connection with Auto-Sug- 
gestion. It is capable of being the most harmful of 
influences, and quite as insidious in its operation as 
any other form of Suggestion. 

I have studied many cases of the Failure Mood, 
the Ill-Health Mood, the Mood of Hopelessness, 
and so on. Very often the condition has been a 
real and permanent one, though originally based 
largely on Imagination. By constantly harboring 
Failure Thought, Sickness Thought, or whatever 



SUGGESTION 43 

it might have been, the man has set up a corre- 
sponding habitual Mood, and that, without being 
conscious of his influence upon Himself in this 
respect. 

As you think, so you are, or will become. It is 
equally true that you cannot realize any state or 
condition of personal development without having 
conceived it in your mind. " The man who suc- 
ceeds must always in mind or imagination live, 
move, think and act as if he had gained that suc- 
cess, or he will never gain it," says Prentice Mul- 
ford. 

Here you have the key to effective employment 
of Auto-Suggestion. First form a clear conception 
of what you desire to be and to do. Then, through 
the agency of Self-Suggestion enlist the Sub-Con- 
scious Mind in the effort of realization. Methods 
of doing this will be explained presently. 

In this connection we will quote a statement of 
Haddock, referring to certain regulations for con- 
duct: "It is a mistake to expect self-development 
from external activities exclusively. If you go over 
the rules until they are thoroughly embedded in the 
sub-conscious phases of your mind, they will then 
germinate, so to speak, and in time become second 
nature." 

There are two general ways of exercising Self- 
Suggestion. One is by assertion directed to the 



44 EVERYDAY EFFICIENCY 

mind whilst in a wide-awake and alertly receptive 
condition. The other is by assertion directed to 
the mind when in a passive and dulled state. The 
former method will be found the most extensively 
useful, but the latter has especiaf value in certain 
conditions. 

Let us suppose that you have set apart the hour 
between 8 and 9 o'clock every night for study. As 
the time approaches you are invariably assailed, 
more or less, by disinclination to enter upon your 
task. A desire to play cards, to go to the theatre, 
or merely to loaf comes over you. A mental 
struggle is necessary and is not always terminated 
as it should be. 

Now, one morning you sit down in a quiet place, 
concentrate your mind and summon your mental 
faculties, — especially the Will, — to attend in full 
force. You then proceed to assert, — it would bet- 
ter be aloud, — the importance of your study, your 
obligation to maintain it, the injury to your self- 
respect in yielding to wrong desire, and so forth. 
Affirm that you are interested in your study and 
find pleasure in it. Above all, declare, with strong 
determination, that you will allow nothing to inter- 
fere with the performance of your duty, that you 
will suppress the temptations to diversion, and that 
your task shall be approached in a spirit of willing 
alacrity. 



SUGGESTION 45 

You may then dismiss the matter from your 
thought with the confident assurance that the Sub- 
Conscious Mind will foster and develop it. On the 
ensuing evening the habitual desire to shirk your 
work will arise, but it will be instantly opposed by 
a counteracting impulse, originating in the sub- 
jective mind. You will experience less difficulty 
than usual in overcoming the adverse inclinations. 
Continued practice will result in the establishment 
of precisely the conditions embraced in your sug- 
gestive assertion. This illustrates the operation of 
one method of applying Auto-Suggestion. 

The other method of exercising Auto-Suggestion 
contemplates a passive mental condition. This may 
be induced by sitting in solitude for a few minutes 
and reducing the mind as nearly as possible to in- 
activity, whilst maintaining a favorable bodily state 
by relaxing the muscles and closing the eyes. The 
desired condition is attained without effort shortly 
before falling asleep and this is the best time for 
employing Auto-Suggestion in the manner under 
consideration. 

For the sake of illustration we will assume that 
you usually enter upon the day reluctantly and go 
through it listlessly and with lack of interest. In 
the period of drowsiness, just preceding slumber, 
repeat the following assertion silently, until you 
fall into unconsciousness. " To-morrow morning I 



46 EVERYDAY EFFICIENCY 

shall awake bright and eager to enter into the 
duties of the day. I shall go about them cheer- 
fully and hopefully. I shall take a lively interest 
in my work and my pastimes, in the persons about 
me and in life generally." 

An impression thus conveyed to the Subjective 
Mind in the last moments of wakefulness will be 
revolved, strengthened and expanded during the 
hours of sleep. If the limits of this chapter allowed, 
I might give you a scientific explanation of this 
phenomenon. It is hardly to be supposed that you 
can have any doubts on the subject. The experi- 
ence of every one is replete with evidence of this 
faculty of the Sub-Conscious Mind. 

In your school days you must have frequently 
gone to sleep with some unsolved problem of 
mathematics, physics or philosophy heavy on your 
mind, and awaked to find the solution clear and 
complete in your brain. You have often tried to 
remember the name of some person or place, with 
the result that the more you strove, the more con- 
fused you became. Presently you abandoned the 
effort, — ceased to muddy the stream, so to speak, — 
and the name you sought came to your mind spon- 
taneously. Doubtless you have gone to bed with 
the thought of arising at an unusual hour and at the 
time in question have suddenly awaked, alert and 
expectant. 



SUGGESTION 47 

Psychologists, and particularly those of the prac- 
tical school, are almost unanimous in the opinion 
that Auto-Suggestion is most effective when a dual 
role is assumed: that is to say, when a person ad- 
dresses himself as he would another, and as nearly 
as possible couples the verbal performance with the 
appropriate mental attitude. To quote Atkinson : 
" One should endeavor to give his suggestion to 
himself precisely as if he were suggesting to an- 
other person. Whatever may be the detail of the 
psychic operation, the fact remains that by so doing 
he will be able to obtain and register a much clearer, 
deeper and more lasting impression than by the ' I 
am this or that ' form of affirmation." 

" In making these suggestions to yourself you 
should always address yourself as if you were speak- 
ing to a third party. * * * Imagine that you 
are suggesting to another person whom you are 
very desirous of building up and strengthening. 
You will find a new field of Auto-Suggestion open- 
ing up before you. A little knack is required, but 
a few trials will show you the value of this im- 
proved method. Talk to ' John Smith,' (or what- 
ever your name may be) as if he were an entirely 
different individual. Tell him what you wish him 
to do and become, and how you expect him to act. 
You will be surprised to see how obedient this sub- 
conscious mentality will become." 



48 EVERYDAY EFFICIENCY 

There are two highly important auxiliary phases 
of this effort by Auto-Suggestion. They are Re- 
cording and Acting. 

Having formed a clear and definite idea of what 
you wish to accomplish, write it dozvn and incor- 
porate the record in your File under the head of 
" Standardized Aspirations." For example : hav- 
ing formed the purpose of becoming an all-round, 
first-class business man, reflect upon the matter, 
and when you have decided what constitutes in de- 
tail a first-class business man, carefully write out 
your conclusion. From this practice you will gain 
the advantages of the enhanced impression that 
comes from bringing an additional sense into play, 
a clearer conception of your purpose, increased 
resolution from having put yourself on record and 
greater facility in checking up progress. 

Your record will help you in the third step that 
consists of playing the part for which you have cast 
yourself. In your record you have drawn the picture 
of an ideal. You are employing Auto-Suggestion 
as a means of realization. You will greatly ex- 
pedite the object by visualizing yourself in the 
ideal state and by living the ideal condition as much 
as possible. Imagine yourself already a first-class 
business man and act as though you were one. 
The physical representation will react upon the 
mind and the combined forces will bring about the 



SUGGESTION 49 

desired result much more quickly than you can 
imagine. 

In this study bear in mind that thought GROWS 
and unfolds under favorable conditions. When you 
first read this chapter the meaning of its contents 
will be conveyed to your objective mind in part only. 
Your subjective mind will receive the full meaning, 
but not in such a way that you can know and use it. 
But, with each successive reading and with every 
additional application of the mind to the subject, 
what Schopenhauer calls " unconscious rumina- 
tion " will be stimulated, germination and growth 
of the seed thoughts will be promoted, and what 
are little more than hints will gradually unfold as 
truths of the utmost significance and practical 
utility. 

It must clearly be understood that the necessary 
limitations of these lessons will not permit of any- 
thing like exhaustive treatment of our subjects. I 
can do no more than blaze the way for you. If 
you are to get the utmost good out of the les- 
sons you must READ THEM FREQUENTLY, REFLECT 
UPON THEM DEEPLY AND PRACTICE THE EXERCISES 
FAITHFULLY. 

EXERCISE NO. 1. 
By careful thought determine the Suggestions, 
good and bad, to which you are regularly or 



50 EVERYDAY EFFICIENCY 

frequently subject. Record them in your File for 
future reference. Adopt measures for abolishing 
the latter, or minimizing the effects, and for in- 
creasing the operation of the former. 

EXERCISE NO. 2. 
Make a careful and conscientious Self-Analysis, 
recording your ultimate conclusions. In this task 
you will find the elements of the Ideal Personality 
as enumerated by Haddock and the opposite quali- 
ties useful guides. 

EXERCISE NO. 3. 
Determine what bad habits and personal qualities 
you wish to eradicate. Then proceed by the 
methods described in this chapter to effect the ob- 
jects. Use the record suggested on page 22 and 
also Auto-Suggestion. Take one habit or quality 
at a time. Do not attempt too much at once. 

EXERCISE NO. 4. 
Begin the employment and training of your Sub- 
Conscious Mind through the medium of Auto-Sug- 
gestion. Select a condition which you wish to 
bring about and induce its development by affirma- 
tion every night before falling asleep. 

Note. It is not possible that you can assimilate 



SUGGESTION 51 

the contents of this lesson without several thought- 
ful readings. It must be studied in relation to later 
lessons. Suggestion will prove to be an important 
factor in all efforts for Personal Efficiency. 

The Exercises must, of course, be maintained 
indefinitely. Numbers 3 and 4 should become 
habitual practice. 



BOOKS 
If further reading on the subject is desired, the 
following books are recommended. The student 
is warned, however, that by too much reading of 
theory he may dampen his fires, so to speak, and 
put a check on progress. 

The Personal Atmosphere, Haddock. Pelton 
Publishing Co., Meriden, Conn. 

Psychology (Briefer Course), James. Henry 
Holt & Co., New York, N. Y. 

Suggestion and Auto-Suggestion, Atkinson. 
Progress Company, Chicago, 111. 

The Magic Story, Dey. Frank E. Morrison, 
New York. (Strongly recommended.) 



52 EVERYDAY EFFICIENCY 

REVIEW QUESTIONS 
II 

11. Give a brief definition of the term "Suggestion" 
as used by psychologists. 

12. Name five common sources of Suggestion. 

13. What is the relation of the Sub-Conscious Mind 
to Suggestion? 

14. How may you minimize your exposure to unde- 
sirable Suggestions? 

15. What is the most powerful form of Suggestion? 

16. What is the essential basis of Personal Efficiency? 

17. What is the most effective method of destroying 
a habit? 

18. Define Character, according to Haddock. 

19. Summarize the course of action in the formation 
of Ideal Personality. 

20. Give an illustration of Suggestion by Authority. 



LESSON THREE 

WILL-PERSEVERANCE-CONCENTRATION 

Will may be described as the faculty of self- 
determination ; the power of deliberately controlling 
physical and mental states and activities. 

As William James says : " Desire, wish, will, are 
states of mind which every one knows, and which 
no definition can make plainer. * * * If, with 
the desire, there goes a sense that attainment is not 
possible, we simply wish; but if we believe that the 
end is within our power, we will that the desired 
feeling, having, or doing shall be real." Character 
is the creature of Will — of Will exercised or Will 
neglected. It is not too much to say that all suc- 
cess and failure are resultants of Will. 

Success in any endeavor must be the outcome of 
a number of different factors. No matter what 
these may be, Will is the greatest and most essential 
of them. It is the source of all initiative, energy and 
continuity. Natural endowments, education and 
training are valuable only provided they can be 
put to practical account. And their efficacy is to 
be measured by the degree of Will-power which is 

53 



54 EVERYDAY EFFICIENCY 

put behind them. It follows, then, that success in 
our endeavors may not be hoped for until we have 
established a foundational resource of Will, subject 
to the direction of sound Reason. The basic need 
in Self-improvement, Character-building and Per- 
sonal Efficiency is a Will strong enough to give you 
the power of controlling self and of ordering your 
faculties. 

Upon this condition all else depends. You may 
have sense of right and righteous inclinations, but, 
nevertheless, be entirely wrong in practice. The 
desire to be or to do this or that will avail nothing 
unless you possess the Will to resolve and to carry 
out your resolutions. The suggestions and direc- 
tions in this Course of Lessons require the exercise 
of Will. If you resolve to follow the Course faith- 
fully, and live up to your determination, its close 
must find you with greatly increased Will-power. 

In ideal manhood Will is complete master of 
mind and body, and the condition exists which 
Emerson describes as " the conversion of the man 
into his Will, making him the Will, and the Will 
him." This state is possible of attainment by any 
man who possesses a sound mind and a healthy 
body. It is the most desirable of all attainments, 
for its acquisition makes everything in the field of 
human ambition possible and, indeed, comparatively 
easy. 



WILL— PERSEVERANCE 55 

Will-culture is a vast subject, embracing many 
phases. In this place only a cursory treatment is 
possible, with some practical suggestions, the pur- 
pose being to impress upon the student the neces- 
sity of Will-power, and to induce him to enter into 
the task of developing it. 

Will is capable of increase in strength and im- 
provement in quality by intelligent means. The 
development of strength is mainly to be achieved 
through exercise. Improvement in quality is to be 
attained by a variety of methods. The creation of 
good desires and the resolve to act in accordance 
with them is the basis of Will-quality. In both 
cases Self-Suggestion is a powerful aid. 

All action is the result of Will, with the possible 
exception of the involuntary action of the bodily 
organs in the maintenance of the life processes. 
The most automatic of our mental and physical 
habits require the exercise of Will at their incipiency 
and early stages. That is to say, that whatever 
we do or think is the subject of volition. We some- 
times say of a man that " he can not help himself," 
by which we mean that his Will is weaker than his 
desires, emotions and passions. But such a con- 
dition does not imply that the power of self-direc- 
tion is entirely lost. The man can acquire mastery 
of himself. To do so may require a long course of 
physical and mental upbuilding, but it is always 



56 EVERYDAY EFFICIENCY 

possible. We are free agents in the fullest sense 
of the words. Volition controls all our activities 
of mind or body. When a man acts contrary to his 
reason and moral promptings, he wills so to act. 

WILL IN THE FORMATION OF HABIT 
The application of Will to the formation of desir- 
able habits is the most effective and economical use 
to which it may be put. The adoption of fixed 
principles and the adaption of the Will to action in 
accordance with them is the surest way of achiev- 
ing success in life. This practice should embrace 
matters of little, as well as those of great, conse- 
quence. Indeed, the Will is measurably strength- 
ened by its consistent exercise in small things and 
is undermined by petty self-indulgences. 

Let us assume that you experience difficulty in 
leaving your bed of a morning. Fix a certain hour 
for rising and make a point of doing so promptly 
every morning. Pursue this practice, which will 
become gradually easier with time, until it shall 
have become habit, requiring no effort in the per- 
formance. 

Success in such minor undertakings will give you 
strength for the exercise of Will in more difficult 
situations, just as practice with two-pound dumb- 
bells will render you capable of lifting a hundred- 
weight. The self-mastery acquired by punctual 



WILL— PERSEVERANCE 57 

rising, restricting smoking, regulating diet and 
similar matters of minor importance must furnish 
you with an accumulation of Will-force that will 
serve in crises and trying situations. 

To quote Jules Payot in this connection : " And 
why are these little efforts of so much importance? 
It is because not one of them is lost; each has its 
share in the formation of habit, each makes the acts 
which follow more easy. Our actions react on us 
by leaving behind them the habit of getting 
promptly to work, the habit of paying attention, the 
habit of taking no more heed of the desires stirring 
within us than we do of the flies buzzing around us." 

Professor James recommends that one shall do 
something every day requiring a distinct exertion 
of the Will. This, regardless of the value of the 
act and purely for the purpose of training and de- 
veloping the Will. But, aside from the specific 
purpose of the practice, there are hundreds of use- 
ful directions in which such Will-action can be 
exerted. For instance, there are innumerable 
forms of mental concentration and muscle control; 
there are many kinds of self-denial and self- 
restraint. There are tests of physical endurance 
and manual dexterity; of observation and memory. 
Exercises in these connections strengthen the Will, 
train various faculties and afford interesting occu- 
pation for spare moments. To quote Haddock: 



58 EVERYDAY EFFICIENCY 

" Any direct effort to cultivate the perceptive 
powers, memory, imagination, reasoning or moral 
faculties must affect the growth of the Will." 

In the cultivation of Will — and of all other facul- 
ties — Suggestion and Auto-Suggestion are potent 
aids. In your efforts to develop Will-power, em- 
ploy the affirmative method of Self-Suggestion. 
At the same time foster the mood of resolute energy 
as expressed in the assertion : " I can and I will do 
what I undertake." Some one has said that " there 
is nothing which tends so much to the success of 
a volitional effort as a confident expectation of its 
success." 

Through the medium of Auto-Suggestion desir- 
able moods and tendencies may be set up, whilst 
contrary conditions are weakened or destroyed. 
Thus, instead of depending exclusively upon the 
decisions of the critical moment to prompt the ap- 
propriate Will-action, you create pre-disposition 
which will reinforce right inclinations and mitigate 
the struggle with wrong inclinations. 

RESOLUTION AND DECISION 
The habitual or preponderating exercise of cer- 
tain faculties is largely dependent upon the main- 
tenance of favorable mental states. The moods of 
Resolution and Decision may be cultivated and, 
when made part of the permanent mental attitude, 



WILL— PERSEVERANCE 59 

afford a constantly favorable atmosphere for the 
origination of Will-action. As Decision is con- 
ducive to Will-action, so nothing is more destructive 
to Will-power than hesitation and mental wavering. 
Better make a wrong decision than remain in a 
state of inactive uncertainty. Decide and Act. 
Make this an habitual practice. So will you 
strengthen your character, sharpen your judgment 
and train your Will to ready action. 

In this connection the faculty of Concentration is 
of the utmost value. If you can center your mental 
faculties upon the thing in hand you will find it 
comparatively easy to make a rapid survey of con- 
ditions, to weigh reasons and to reach decisions. 

Most persons take a neutral or indifferent atti- 
tude in trivial matters with the idea that no conse- 
quences worth consideration are involved. As a 
matter of fact, such an attitude has an insidious 
influence in undermining the Will. As a young 
man it was once my privilege to " cut in " with Dr. 
Pole, who had the distinction of being the finest 
whist-player of his age and a scientist of extraor- 
dinary attainments. Having the opening deal, my 
partner put the usual question, " Which will you 
have?" referring to the two packs of cards. 
" Either," I answered with indifference. " Red or 
blue, sir! Decide on one or the other," exclaimed 
Dr. Pole. " It is perhaps of no consequence which, 



60 EVERYDAY EFFICIENCY 

but it is important that you should have a positive 
mind, even in the smallest matters." 

Worse than vacillation and the neutral attitude 
is the habit of relying upon others to help you 
" make up your mind." Maintain mental inde- 
pendence at all costs if you would preserve your 
moral fibre. 

THE POWER OF PURPOSE 
Purpose is the great Incentive of Will. Will is 
the Support of Purpose. 

The man with one aim — singleness of purpose, 
pursued with Will — is irresistible. He must suc- 
ceed, for not only are his forces focused on one 
objective, but the concentration of his effort attracts 
other favorable factors to his aid. In the course of 
time, Mankind and Nature become his allies. This 
is illustrated in the stories of hundreds of lives 
which were regulated by a predominating Purpose. 
No matter how difficult his path in the early stages, 
sooner or later everything works to the advantage 
of the man of single-minded determination. This 
is the underlying truth in the old adage : " Nothing 
succeeds like success." 

To quote Ike Marvel: "Resolve is what makes 
a man manifest; not puny resolve, not crude de- 
termination, not errant purpose — but that strong 
and indefatigable Will that treads down difficulties 



WILL— PERSEVERANCE 61 

and danger, as a boy treads down the heaving frost- 
lands of winter; which kindles the eye and brain 
with a proud pulse-beat toward the unattainable. 
Will makes men giants." 

A strong incentive or motive for certain action, 
or a fixed purpose, is the logical foundation and the 
surest stimulant of Will-action. In most circum- 
stances it is possible to enhance the motive so as 
to intensify volition and consequently facilitate 
Will-action. To illustrate : Moved by a sense of 
duty, you resolve to work eight hours a day. The 
Will to carry out your resolution may be strength- 
ened by calling to mind the material advantages 
which will accrue to you from working eight hours 
a day. 

Will-action may receive fresh stimulation and 
support by frequent reflection on an incentive or 
purpose. This urge or sustaining effect is especially 
valuable at times when counter-inducements tempt 
you to violate your resolution. For example, you 
receive an attractive invitation to go upon an out- 
ing some afternoon. The moral obligation to de- 
cline may not weigh sufficiently to induce a right 
decision, but the scale will probably be turned by 
some such reflection as the following: " I ought not 
to take the afternoon off. If I stick to my work 
there is the possibility of earning a big commission 
before evening. Breach of my resolution must 



62 EVERYDAY EFFICIENCY 

weaken my Will, whereas, adherence to my resolu- 
tion throughout the year is practically sure to yield 
me the income of $5,000 which I have made my 
mark, and with it the automobile and other things 
that I have set my heart on possessing." 

WANING WILL TO BE GUARDED AGAINST 
Even more deplorable than sheer weakness of 
Will is the condition of the man whose volitions are 
habitually followed by inertia. Not infrequently he 
is capable of determined and energetic action, but 
his plans, impulses, sentiments and emotions repre- 
sent, for the most part, pitiful waste of possibilities. 
Coleridge, the poet, was one of the most gifted men 
in his generation. He conceived many great 
projects, none of which he carried out, though each 
was within his power of accomplishment 

This condition is not to be confused with that in 
which the person essays undertakings and con- 
sistently fails for lack of Will-power. In the case 
of the inert Will — if that be not a contradiction of 
terms — the man's volitions die a-borning. They 
are nullified by a mood of indolence or indifference. 
In time the man comes to find some sort of satis- 
faction in mere planning and wishing. The failure 
to act is not the ultimate, nor the worst consequence 
of abortive volition. As William James declares: 
" Every time a resolve or a fine glow of feeling 



WILL—PERSEVERANCE 63 

evaporates without bearing practical fruit it is 
worse than a chance lost; it works so as to posi- 
tively hinder future resolutions and emotions from 
taking the normal path of discharge." 

The natural preventive of this condition, or rem- 
edy for it, is the simple practice of acting promptly 
upon your mental dictates. Do this habitually in 
small things and you will find it comparatively easy 
to do it in matters of greater moment. You are 
moved by an appeal on behalf of Belgian sufferers 
and decide to make a contribution. Lay down the 
magazine and write your check at once. Don't 
wait until to-morrow morning. You determine to 
devote an hour every evening to serious reading. 
Begin to-night. The important thing is to cultivate 
the mood of Decision and the habit of Action, so 
that it will become second nature to do without 
delay whatever you decide to do. 

PERSEVERANCE 

Will exhibits in a variety of ways. There is 
what may be termed explosive Will. We are all 
acquainted with men who manifest bursts or " fits " 
of great energy as the result of sudden and evanes- 
cent exercise of Will, but who are quite incapable 
of sustained effort. 

Periodic and fleeting Will-action, no matter how 
forceful its explosions, can not accomplish as much 



64 EVERYDAY EFFICIENCY 

as the steady, continuous expenditure of energy, 
even though in much less degree. The Will that 
endures, and such Will only, carries things through 
to a finish and makes possible notable performances. 
Your tasks and duties are many and diversified, but 
when you consider that they are no more than parts 
of the great ultimate object of living your life 
aright it is evident the perpetual Will is the essential 
need. 

The type of Will which is most valuable to its 
possessor and most useful to the world is that 
which pursues its purpose through difficulties and 
drudgery to the end. It manifests in a patient 
energy which can not be discouraged nor diverted 
from its object. It is, in short, Perseverance. 

" There are two qualities necessary in traveling 
through life,*' declares Yoritomo-Tashi, the Jap- 
anese sage. " Perseverance comes first and then 
the will to practice perseverance." 

The quality of Perseverance is more necessary to 
success in this day than ever before. Competition 
is keener and standards of requirement higher. 
Only the man whose work is done thoroughly and 
completely may hope for promotion from the ranks. 
It is absolutely necessary, therefore, that you culti- 
vate the Persistent Will. 

Every man — no matter how limited his natural 
endowment — may do good work and achieve 



WILL— PERSEVERANCE 65 

marked success. It is less a question of talents than 
one of Will. Fixed determination will carry a dull 
and uneducated person farther than a brilliant man 
can go handicapped by a weak Will. 

COMPONENT ELEMENTS OF PERSEVERANCE 
Most faculties are composites, or, at least, de- 
pendency related to other qualities. Perseverance 
is supported by steady energy, constant courage, 
self-confidence, hopeful patience and sustained in- 
terest. Examine yourself in respect to these quali- 
ties. If you are deficient in any one of them, set 
about strengthening it as a preliminary to the culti- 
vation of Perseverance. It goes without saying 
that if you possess all the qualities in question, for 
you the exercise of Perseverance is a simple and 
easy matter. 

Failure to persevere is not always attributable to 
lack of Will-power. The cause of it is commonly 
to be found in the habit of entering upon under- 
takings without due deliberation and preparation. 
The man who would not think of starting on a long 
journey without securing pertinent information, 
making thoughtful plans and providing necessary 
equipment, will plunge into a formidable under- 
taking without considering the difficulties, the 
qualifications necessary for success or the prepara- 
tory conditions that should be created. As the 



66 EVERYDAY EFFICIENCY 

task develops, unsuspected difficulties are encoun- 
tered and, perhaps, a true perspective reveals the 
end as not worth the effort to attain it. The man 
desists, and wisely so. The misfortune consists not 
in the failure, but in the fact that by repetition the 
experience tends to set up the failure-habit and the 
failure-mood. 

It can hardly be necessary to state that the 
quality under consideration is entirely different 
from blind Obstinacy. This despicable defect of 
character is invariably accompanied by many other 
weaknesses. The obstinate man's processes are in- 
fluenced by false-reasoning and false-pride. He 
can not be advised; he can not be taught by ex- 
perience. He is usually a hopeless unfortunate. 

Deliberate! Examine! Plan! Prepare! Then 
if Decision dictates Action, Perseverance will at- 
tend upon the effort. 

Here is a significant fact and one of the most 
important. Whilst the task upon which the Will 
is directed is almost always more difficult at the out- 
set than at any later stage, it happens generally that 
greater difficulty is experienced in maintaining the 
exertion of the Will at later stages than at first. 
How shall we account for this anomaly? It is 
attributable to diminution of the motive stimulus. 
Enthusiasm dies down, interest wanes, original im- 
pression becomes dim, the underpinning of the Will 



WILL— PERSEVERANCE 67 

is weakened and, at the same time, the incentive for 
its operation declines in influence. 

The toper resolves to forswear strong drink for 
all time, faithfully refrains for a while and then 
suffers a relapse. At the time he formed his reso- 
lution the difficulty of performance was much 
greater than when he failed. The same condition 
exists in the case of the salesman who, acting 
on deliberate determination, works for a spell at the 
rate of eight hours daily and presently drops back 
into his former habit of indolence. 

Waning Will is a common form of weakness. 
Sometimes it is due to hasty or ill-considered un- 
dertaking, but more often it is temperamental. 
The condition must be checked at its inception. As 
soon as a flagging of the Will is noticed, seek new 
points of view, fresh interest and additional motives 
for adherence to resolution. Maintain close watch 
upon all reformative processes until long practice 
shall have reduced them to habit-action, or a con- 
dition closely akin to it. 

METHOD OF SUSTAINING WILL 
When a resolution is formed, record it definitely 
in your File under the head of Ideals, Aspirations, 
Tasks, Duties, or other appropriate designation. 
Add a statement of the incentive, of associated 
matters which will enhance interest or stimulate 



68 EVERYDAY EFFICIENCY 

endeavor, of plans, methods and other pertinent 
subjects. 

Make a point of reading this record at regular 
intervals and of adding to it as fresh thought may 
suggest. 

Will-power is largely dependent upon physical 
condition. Vigorous health is almost invariably 
accompanied by strong Will. Improvement of the 
physical tone must result in improvement of the 
mental and moral tone. And these conditions are 
a certain basis of powerful and well-directed Will. 
In the section on Physical Efficiency we shall recur 
to this subject. 

Whilst it is recommended that you miss no op- 
portunities for the exercise of Will in comparatively 
easy and unimportant matters, you are advised not 
to undertake, at the outset of your training, more 
than one or two great efforts of the Will, involving 
very different achievement. To do so would be 
to court failure, with consequent loss of confidence 
in your power. Better proceed as you would in 
physical training, gradually developing the faculty 
and setting it tasks increasing in difficulty with the 
corresponding increase in its strength. 

CONCENTRATION 
What is the process by which we arrive at right 
Will-action? Reasoning brings about a decision or 



WILL— PERSEVERANCE 69 

volition and this finds dynamic expression in Will- 
action. First, then, we have thinking of a high 
order, and this involves Concentration. This essen- 
tial connection between Will and Concentration 
justifies us in giving a place to it here. 

Concentration — that is, focusing the attention, 
as well as the faculties — is one of the chief factors 
in the exercise of Will. No efficient action, if we 
exclude purely automatic processes, being possible 
without Concentration, the necessity for the culti- 
vation of this faculty is apparent. Practice in Con- 
centration has the additional value that it is ex- 
cellent training of the Will. 

" It is," says Professor Shaler Mathews, " only 
by continued, strenuous effort, repeated again and 
again, day after day, week after week, and month 
after month, that the ability can be acquired to 
fasten the mind on one subject, however abstract or 
knotty, to the exclusion of everything else. The 
process of obtaining this self-mastery — this com- 
plete command of one's mental powers — is a grad- 
ual one, its length varying with the mental con- 
stitution of each person; but its acquisition is 
worth infinitely more than the utmost labor it ever 
costs." 

Daily exercise in Concentration is strongly 
recommended. It is well to set apart fifteen min- 
utes for the purpose, preferably in the early morn- 



70 EVERYDAY EFFICIENCY 

ing, when the mind is fresh and vigorous. The 
time devoted to this exercise may be turned to the 
best account by directing the Concentration upon 
subjects of practical utility. During the day, odds 
and ends of time may be profitably occupied in the 
same manner. 

Secure seclusion and give your whole mind to 
Concentration on some simple subject and in any 
surroundings. By and by you will find it possible 
to hold your thoughts on complex matters. Your 
ultimate aim — which you will not achieve until 
after months of faithful endeavor — is to keep your 
mind fixed for fifteen minutes. Your early efforts 
will result in a series of breaks. But every time 
that the mind wanders you must bring it back de- 
terminedly. By degrees you will find the spells of 
fixity growing longer, until at length you can hold 
the mind unwavering on a certain point for a quar- 
ter of an hour. Then it will be completely under 
your command. You will be able to do with it 
what you please. Later mental training is child's 
play in comparison with the acquisition of the 
power to concentrate. 

Let me supply a subject for your practice in Con- 
centration. In doing so I am taking into account 
the powerful effect of Auto-Suggestion and the 
value of enlisting the sub-conscious mind in the 
undertaking. 



WILL— PERSEVERANCE 7 1 

" I will train my brain so that it shall become 
absolutely subservient to my will; 

So that it shall act promptly and persistently as 
I direct; 

So that it shall make my thought go out as a 
dart toward the object I indicate and pierce it 
instantly ; 

So that it shall grip the subject I give it to hold 
and hang on as a bulldog until I bid it let go ; 

I will habituate it to rest when I do not need it, 
but to awaken energetically at the moment I com- 
mand: 

It shall be my obedient and faithful servant, do- 
ing the tasks I set in the most thorough manner 
without waste of effort or friction; 

It shall be trained to disregard certain impres- 
sions, to ignore certain occurrences, to suppress 
certain tendencies, but to be open and receptive to 
certain others; 

This servant shall be so schooled that it will 
never idle nor waste my time. When not engaged 
under my direct instruction it will habitually seek 
employment in profitable and pleasant channels." 

Do not make a special effort to memorize this 
declaration. Read it until it becomes automatically 
impressed on the memory. This should be the case 
within three days. In training of this sort it is well 
to have intervals of rest and I advise you to omit 



72 EVERYDAY EFFICIENCY 

the practice on Sundays. You should be warned 
that after you have made an appreciable degree of 
progress you will experience a period when advance 
will seem to be completely checked. This may last 
for a week or ten days. I can not explain the mental 
phenomenon which is characteristic of all such 
efforts, but I can assure you that after its passage 
improvement will be more rapid than before. 

You may derive great benefit from the regular 
habit of meditation. By " meditation " I mean the 
serious contemplation of a subject — not dreaming, 
dozing, or flights of fancy. Thirty minutes spent 
daily in reflection upon matters concerning your 
business will prove of the utmost practical ad- 
vantage to you, whilst affording you excellent 
mental practice. 

Here is an effective exercise in Concentration 
which need occupy but two or three minutes at a 
time and may easily be practiced many times in the 
day: 

Exercise No. 5. Take a few moments to detach 
your mind and hold it in suspense, as it were. Now, 
make the following statement slowly and forcefully, 
aloud if consistent, but in either case so that the 
full significance of every word is impressed upon 
your consciousness. Concentrate intensely and 
repeat until you feel a sense of energy surging 



WILL— PERSEVERANCE 73 

within you : I CAN and I WILL do what I under- 
take! 

This is at once an exercise in Concentration and 
in the development of Will by Auto-Suggestion. 

Exercise No. 6. Fixing your gaze upon the sec- 
ond dial of your watch, count from 1 to 60, pro- 
nouncing each number exactly on the flick of the 
hand. Next, repeat the alphabet, timing yourself 
in the same way. Then skip 15 ticks and count 35. 

In case you break down at any stage, take a few 
moments to compose yourself and commence again 
from the beginning of the exercise. 

With short intervals of rest, repeat the exercise 
several times. As facility increases, extend the 
count and alternate numbers and letters, thus: a, 1, 
b, 2, c, 3, etc. To count up to 600, that is, to hold 
the attention steadily on the task for ten minutes, is 
no mean feat of Concentration, simple as it may 
seem to those who have not tried it. 

This exercise affords you a combination of prac- 
tice in Concentration, Perseverance and Will. 

Exercise No. 7. Construct a brief sentence, ex- 
pressing a truth that it is worth while impressing 
upon your mind. For example : " Concentration is 
essential to correct thinking." 

Reduce your sentence to its important parts, thus : 



74 EVERYDAY EFFICIENCY 

" Concentration — essential — correct thinking." Fix 
your thought in turn upon each of these with the 
purpose of determining its precise meaning. Finally 
devote your attention to the full significance of the 
complete sentence. 

Whenever your mind wanders from the direct 
line of thought, bring it back to the point of 
divergence. 

Exercise No. 8. Select one of the qualities or 
traits which you are striving to acquire. Let us 
say, Cheerfulness. Give your mind a free rein in 
this connection, but hold it rigidly within the field 
of the subject. Think as extensively as you please 
about Cheerfulness, but exclude every foreign 
thought. 

In this exercise you are not only practicing Con- 
centration, but also stimulating the Sub-Conscious 
mind and promoting the cultivation of the desired 
quality. 

Exercise No. 9. Sitting in a quiet room, exert a 
strong effort and make the mind blank. See how 
long you can retain it so without the intrusion of a 
definite thought. 

These exercises should suggest others, and it 
must not be overlooked that all exercises, whether 



WILL— PERSEVERANCE 75 

mental or physical, are to be performed with the 
utmost possible Concentration. 

In connection with all exercises keep records of 
results, so that you may note progress and also 
have definite marks for future efforts. 

All the suggested exercises will serve some sub- 
sidiary purpose, aside from the object with which 
they are primarily devised. In fact, every exercise 
must involve practice in Concentration and Will 
activity. Make a point of discovering these inter- 
relations. The knowledge of them will create an 
added interest, tend to efficiency of performance 
and support perseverance. 



BOOKS 
Power of Will, Haddock. Pelton Publishing Co., 
Meriden, Conn. 

The Education of the Will, Payot. Funk & 
Wagnalls Co., New York, N. Y. 



76 EVERYDAY EFFICIENCY 

REVIEW QUESTIONS 
III 

21. Name five important qualities which depend for 
their exercise upon Will-power. 

22. Describe briefly forms of Will exercise involving 
(i) muscle control; (2) self-denial; (3) manual 
dexterity. 

23. Aside from energy, name an important factor in 
the success of a volitional effort. 

24. What is the most powerful incentive to Will-action? 

25. State the best general method for stimulating and 
sustaining Will-action. 

26. What are the elements of Perseverance? 

27. What is the advantage of keeping records of per- 
formances ? 

28. What faculties are necessarily involved in the proper 
performance of all exercises? 

29. What is the best time for the practice of Concentra- 
tion? 

30. What is the best counteraction for waning Will? 



LESSON FOUR 
FEAR— TIMIDITY-WORRY 

Fear is the most devastating agency in life. It 
prevents initiative, paralyzes effort, promotes dis- 
ease, hampers development and in a thousand ways 
mars the character. Withal, it is one of the most 
common defects. Most of us are subject to Fear in 
one form or another. We fear self, we fear fate, 
we fear death, we fear disease, we fear poverty, we 
fear failure, we fear accident, we fear difficulties, 
we fear responsibility, we fear censure. And so 
one might go on interminably, enumerating the 
multifarious phases of Fear in civilized life. 

Whilst writers on the subject are agreed that 
Fear is one of the most prevalent vices, few offer 
any practical suggestions for its eradication. The 
reader is generally advised to have recourse to 
.Reason, which is well enough as far as it goes, but 
the fact remains that the conclusions of Reason are 
by no means invariably of sufficient influence to 
control action. 

Lyman Abbott has stated : " If you can look back 
upon exigencies in life when you have faced a real 
danger, you can bear witness that the lions are al- 

77 



78 EVERYDAY EFFICIENCY 

ways chained." We can all subscribe to the truth 
of this statement. We know from personal experi- 
ence that in situations which have excited our fears, 
the realization was rarely, if ever, so bad as imagina- 
tion had pictured it. But the Fear-feeling persists, 
despite this knowledge. 

In the great majority of instances the fearful man 
is acutely aware of the unreasonableness of the 
emotion. He may know from former experience 
that his dread is not justified. Nevertheless, with 
each recurrence of the alarming conditions he falls 
into the accustomed Fear-feeling. Here the cause 
lies, largely at least, in Habit and Suggestion. No 
amount of reasoning will effect a remedy. It must 
be found in undermining the basis of Fear by 
counter-suggestion and in the exercise of Will. 

The fundamental causes of Fear are uncontrolled 
imagination, lack of self-mastery, weak reason, ill- 
health, — any or all of these. " Whatever its mani- 
festations, wherever its apparent location, Fear is 
a psychic state reacting upon the individual in sev- 
eral ways; as, in the nerves, in mental moods, in a 
single impulse, in a chronic habit, in a totally un- 
balanced condition. ,, 

The ability to master and to destroy Fear de- 
pends upon Physical Tone, Power of Will and 
Mental Balance. Fear is inconsistent with perfect 
health, — that is, the state of sane mind in sound 



FEAR— TIMIDITY—WORRY 79 

body. In the last analysis it will be found that the 
Fear-habit bases on ill-health. It rarely happens 
that a man with strong, sound nerves is subject to 
Fear. On the other hand, with the establishment 
of robust health, the tendency to Fear invariably 
vanishes or, at least, is greatly reduced. 

Self-respect should stimulate a man to rebel 
against the tyranny of Fear. What more humiliat- 
ing than the consciousness that, despite of desire, 
you will be overmastered by a futile emotion when- 
ever it may arise. The very thought would seem 
to be enough to excite the Will to a supreme effort 
for deliverance. " None that fears, or grieves, or 
is anxious, is free," says Epictetus, " but whomso- 
ever is released from griefs and fears and anxieties 
is, by that very thing, released from slavery." 

NECESSARY TO ERADICATE FEAR-FEELINGS 
Repeated submission to the Fear-feeling results, 
at length, in the creation of the Fear-habit and 
Fear-mood, a state in which the victim's mind is 
constantly in a favorable condition for the reception 
of Fear, which he makes no effort to combat. 

For example, thousands of men are prevented 
from making progress solely by the Fear of Failure. 
In many instances they possess the ability to ac- 
complish things which they have not the courage 
to undertake. Timorous self-restraint is indulged 



80 EVERYDAY EFFICIENCY 

until the Failure-mood is produced, in which the 
man is entirely without self-confidence and antici- 
pates failure before he has made an effort. " The 
shores of fortune are covered with the stranded 
wrecks of men of brilliant ability, but who wanted 
courage, faith and decision, and therefore perished 
in sight of more resolute, but less capable adven- 
turers, who succeeded in making port." 

If you are afflicted with any form of the Fear- 
habit it is essential to your success in life that you 
rid yourself of it. This, not only because of its 
immediate effects, but even more on account of its 
deleterious influence upon the general character. 
Make a firm determination to throw off the yoke. 
, " But screw your courage to the sticking-place." 
There's the rub ! We often arouse sufficient Cour- 
age-energy to make an attempt, but find that it is 
not enough to carry us through to the end. Pres- 
ently the effort involves pain, self-denial, difficulty. 
Then arises a conflict of desires. The desire for 
relief contests with the desire for accomplishment. 
The latter must be made strong enough to prevail 
or failure will ensue. 

Decision and resolution are strongly inimical to 
Fear. If you decide upon a course of action and 
determine to follow it, regardless of consequences, 
the Fear-feeling will subside. When retreat is cut 
off and it is certain that the thing feared must be 



FEAR— TIMIDITY— WORRY 81 

encountered, the feeling of Fear usually declines 
and sometimes disappears. Soldiers are familiar 
with this fact, and, in anticipation of a battle, are 
commonly oppressed by a sensation of dread, which 
falls off, like a discarded cloak, when once they are 
launched in action. Many actors and public speak- 
ers experience " nervous " apprehension before 
facing their audience, but become calm and self- 
possessed at the moment of stepping upon the stage 
or platform. 

You will remember when, as a boy, you were 
considering some forbidden enterprise, — a fishing 
jaunt or a raid upon an orchard, — that so long as 
the least doubt as to your action existed you were 
disturbed by misgivings. Just as soon as you made 
up your mind positively to indulge your desire and 
throw consequences to the wind, you became care- 
free and thoughtless of everything but your project. 

The practice of assuming a somewhat similar 
mental attitude is recommended to you now. 
When you have a condition, a task or a duty which 
excites your fear, do not allow your imagination to 
dwell upon it. Having decided that you should do 
the thing in question, resolve that you will do it, 
despite everything. Then exclude from your mind 
all thought of the unpleasant conditions or conse- 
quences apprehended. It is a sort of " don't care 
a continental " mood that is suggested. 



82 EVERYDAY EFFICIENCY 

Say to yourself, with concentration, and aloud, if 
practicable : " I ought to do this thing and I am 
positively going to do it. That's settled. It's no 
use anticipating the unpleasant features. I shall 
have to put up with them when they come and 
probably they will not be half as bad as I imagine." 

FEAR BREAKS DOWN UNDER ATTACK 
There is absolutely no surer cure for the Fear- 
feeling than the practice, resolutely adhered to, of 
invariably doing the thing that you fear to do. 
This will reveal the groundless character of most 
of your apprehensions, give you confidence in your 
power to rise superior to them and break down the 
habit or mood of Fear. 

An Englishman, whom the War has brought into 
world prominence, in his boyhood narrowly escaped 
the attack of a rabid dog, which bit one of his 
schoolmates, causing death from hydrophobia. 
From that time, the boy, otherwise normal, experi- 
enced the most acute fear of all dogs. The sight or 
sound of one unnerved him and its approach threw 
him into a state of uncontrollable terror. This con- 
dition had continued unabated for years when he 
determined to overcome it. By extreme exercise 
of Will he forced himself to pat every dog that 
came within his reach, although for long he could 
not do so without trembling. He purchased two 



FEAR— TIMIDITY— WORRY 83 

dogs and gave them the freedom of his rooms, 
despite the misery that this caused him for months. 
At the end of a year his fear of dogs had completely 
disappeared and he ultimately became decidedly 
fond of them. 

Here was a case of Fear founded on a concrete 
cause and strengthened by strong Suggestion. So 
long as the habit of avoidance was preserved the 
Fear continued, although Reason doubtless con- 
demned it constantly. By bringing the Will to bear 
upon the task and boldly attacking the subject of 
Fear it was subdued. Bearded in his den, the lion 
is never so ferocious a creature as our imagination 
pictures him to be. 

Make it a rule to do the very thing that you fear 
whenever occasion arises. Sternly repress the 
temptation to escape and compel yourself to per- 
form the dreaded action. Every time that Will 
thus asserts itself, the degree of the Fear-feeling is 
diminished. On the other hand, every time that 
you yield to a Fear-feeling, beating a retreat before 
it, its power over you is increased. 

" Fear comes not of doing; it issues infallibly 
from the not doing. Fear is the deposit of the 
soul's inaction. That which you really undertake 
begets courage. While seemingly the antecedent 
of action, courage is actually the result of doing 
something. Hence the habit of courage, like any 



84 EVERYDAY EFFICIENCY 

other habit, comes of acting — of doing the thing one 
fears to do. Decline always what you fear, and the 
death of courage is as certain as law. Do always 
what you fear, except the immoral, and the death 
of fear is as certain as law." 

In most cases the foundation of Fear is laid by 
anticipatory imagination. A condition of simmer- 
ing apprehension is set up, gradually increases and 
culminates in an emotional overflow that subverts 
self-control. The process is much like that of 
generating steam in a boiler to the bursting point. 

ATTACKING FEAR IN ITS INCIPIENCY 
Fear is comparatively easy to combat in its early 
stages and before the occurrence of the occasion 
for it. Resolutely exclude the disturbing thought 
from the mind and, above all, never allow a mental 
picture of the thing or situation dreaded to find 
lodgment in the mind. 

There is a distinction between thought, and feel- 
ing or emotion. The Fear-thought must precede 
the Fear-feeling. The point is to form the habit 
of nipping Fear-thought in the bud, before it can 
develop into Fear-feeling. 

At the first approach of the Fear-feeling suspend 
all action and for a few minutes breathe slowly, 
deeply and regularly. This will still nervous agita- 
tion, produce mental calmness and a sense of 



FEAR— TIMIDITY—WORRY 85 

energy. In this condition an effort of the Will is 
comparatively easy. 

Physical attitude will inevitably affect the mind, 
producing a condition in harmony with the appear- 
ance. This, in accordance with the Law of Sug- 
gestion. Whistle and wear a smile for fifteen min- 
utes and you will most assuredly begin to feel 
cheerful. Let your shoulders droop and your gaze 
become downcast. A sense of dejection must 
presently steal over you. So the habitual main- 
tenance of the appropriate attitude will prove a 
most effective agency in the cultivation of Courage. 
Make a practice of carrying yourself with an air 
of self-assurance. Throw out your chest; hold 
your head erect and look boldly upon the world. 
The experience of one week will prove the value of 
this advice. 

There is a mine of truth in the declaration of 
Cicero that " a man of Courage is also a man of 
Faith." Faith fosters Courage and Courage creates 
Faith. What can form so firm a support for Cour- 
age as faith in oneself, faith in one's friends, faith 
in Providence? 

In a former chapter we dwelt upon the effective- 
ness in habit eradication of the formation of con- 
trary habit. This principle may be applied to the 
Fear-habit, and its cure may be effected by estab- 
lishing the Courage-habit. In some circumstances 



86 EVERYDAY EFFICIENCY 

and with certain individuals the desired result will 
be secured more readily by devoting the attention 
to upbuilding- Courage-condition than by direct 
efforts to tearing down Fear-condition. An intelli- 
gent co-mingling of the processes would seem to be 
the ideal method. 

Courage is peculiarly susceptible to cultivation 
by Suggestion, because the condition is so largely 
dependent upon mental state, although physical 
health has an important influence, even in Moral 
Courage; but the highest form of Courage is en- 
tirely independent of physical conditions and has 
sometimes been displayed notably by weak persons, 
with diseased bodies. In the last analysis, Courage 
is a feeling — physical, intellectual, or moral. Al- 
though Will is an essential factor in Courage- 
action, it derives its stimulus from Reason, Desire 
or Moral Consideration. In short, no matter how 
it manifests, all Courage originates in the mind and 
is sustained by it. Courage is, consequently, a 
peculiarly fit subject for treatment by the Sub- 
jective Intelligence. 

USE OF SUGGESTION IN FEAR SUPPRESSION 
In Buddha's " Path of Virtue " we read : " All 
that we are is the result of what we have thought; 
it is founded on our thoughts ; it is made up of our 
thoughts." Here we have the Key to all Self- 



FEAR— TIMIDITY— WORRY 87 

Improvement. As we think, so we shall be. But 
we know that thought absorbed by the Sub-Con- 
scious Mind is the most fruitful of results. Conse- 
quently Suggestion, directed to the Sub-Conscious 
Mind is the most effective means we can employ. 

On this point Marden remarks : " Few people 
realize the force that exists in a vigorous, perpetual 
affirmation of the thing we long to be or are 
determined to accomplish. * * * If you have 
hard work in making up your mind to undertake 
what you know you ought to do, just get yourself 
somewhere alone and brace yourself up. Talk to 
yourself, just as you would to some friend whom 
you love; some one who you know has ability but 
lacks courage and pluck. * * * Through these 
talks, if you will be sincere with yourself and strong 
and persistent in your affirmation, you will be sur- 
prised to see how you can increase your courage, 
your confidence and your ability to execute your 
ideas." 

Haddock gives so lucid an explanation of the 
process as to justify a lengthy quotation. 

" In auto-suggestion you assert and assume to 
be a fact that which has not really become a fact. 
Yet, by the assertion and assumption you begin to 
make it a fact in your inner life and for yourself. 
When you assert a thing, you form an idea of it — 
begin to experience it as thought. When you be- 



88 EVERYDAY EFFICIENCY 

gin to assume the thing as real within, you begin to 
experience it as feeling. If you really assert and 
assume, you not only affirm that it is, but as well 
that it surely will be — only more so. In other 
words, in regard to this thing, you decide, affirm, 
resolve. By so much as you go on with the asser- 
tion and assumption, you disclose persistence. 
You see, then, that you now experience this thing 
as Will. 

" Thus, the inner experience has evolved thought, 
feeling, Will. You have really experienced the 
thing with the whole of yourself. You have put 
yourself into that thing. You have incorporated 
that thing in yourself. By so much you have be- 
come that thing. 

" You will find, moreover, a strange occurrence 
taking place at this point : The meaning of the thing 
will grow on you, and the thing itself will unfold 
within you. New meanings will emerge. New de- 
velopments will occur. The process is infallible." 

The writer goes on to advise long practice of the 
following affirmation : 

" I assume — feel — realize — within — courage ; per- 
fect assertive courage." 

TIMIDITY 
In the foregoing we have not contemplated 
chronic cowardice, but rather Fear of particular 



FEAR— TIMIDITY— WORRY 89 

kinds and occasional occurrence. Something of a 
difference may be discerned in Timidity, which is 
a milder emotion and more general in its influence 
upon the person. 

" Timidity," says Yoritomo-Tashi, the philoso- 
pher of Nippon, " may be compared to a magnify- 
ing glass which accentuates and enlarges the most 
minute forms a hundredfold, but includes so small 
a space that only a small portion of the object can 
be seen." He refers to the fact that to the timid 
mind matters of little moment are exaggerated and 
the sense of proportion is so impaired that a com- 
prehensive view of a situation or condition is ren- 
dered impossible. 

The foundation of Timidity is often laid by 
defective education in childhood, but, contrary to 
common belief, Timidity is not one of the qualities 
which are commonly innate. It is more frequently 
the outcome of some other defects of character. 
Consequently, the remedy for it may generally be 
found in discovering and correcting the sources. 

As often as not, abnormal self-esteem — which is 
not incompatible with lack of self-confidence — or 
acute self-consciousness is the cause of such a state, 
In any case, the latter is almost invariably an ac- 
companiment of Timidity. The habit of Concen- 
tration will operate against this condition. The 
mind focused upon the matter immediately in hand 



9o EVERYDAY EFFICIENCY 

can not be concerned with anything else, nor 
embarrassed by self-consciousness. Persons who 
can not eradicate Timidity are sometimes able to 
neutralize it by exercise of Concentration. 

The acquisition of Poise — self-composure, which 
is to be treated of in a subsequent lesson — will 
greatly aid in overcoming Timidity, and will at 
least make it possible to suppress outward mani- 
festation of it. 

Moderate modesty is well enough, but humility 
is another matter. The " worm of the dust " atti- 
tude is no longer commended by practical educators. 
Rather is a rational egotism to be advised. " No 
man should ever despise himself," we read in the 
Mahabharata, " for marked success never attends 
the man whose estimate of himself is low." The 
world is very apt to accept a man at something like 
his own valuation. The timorous creature who 
gives the impression that he " feels like thirty 
cents," should not expect to be rated any higher. 

METHOD OF OVERCOMING TIMIDITY 

The suggestions offered for overcoming Fear 

will apply, for the most part, to the treatment of 

Timidity. Follows a practice which is especially 

applicable to the most common forms of Timidity. 

Exercise No. 10. Concentrating your mind ener- 



FEAR— TIMIDITY— WORRY 91 

getically upon the task, in imagination go through 
such a situation as usually excites your Timidity. 
Rehearse your actions and speech in detail, invest- 
ing them with ease and composure. Make your 
imaginary conduct entirely natural and carefully 
avoid effrontery or exaggeration. 

Devote half an hour, three or four times a week, 
to this exercise. It is the strongest form of Auto- 
suggestion and the Sub-Conscious Mind can not 
fail to respond with beneficial results. 

A caution may be advisable here. These exer- 
cises are not intended to be rehearsals of actual 
performances. If you find yourself in a real situa- 
tion similar to one through which you have gone in 
imagination, give no thought to the latter. You 
can not attempt to reproduce your imaginary 
actions and speech without creating self-conscious- 
ness. Enter upon the situation with confidence of 
help from your Sub-Conscious Mind and behave 
naturally. 

There is a sound moral in the inscription on the 
gates of Busyrane: "Be bold! Be bold, be bold 
and evermore be bold! Be not too bold ! " The 
underlying thought here is thus expressed by 
Heinrich Heine : " He who fears to venture as far 
as his heart urges and his reason permits is a 
coward; he who ventures farther than he intended 
to go is a fool." 



92 EVERYDAY EFFICIENCY 

In short, beware of reckless audacity. Let pru- 
dence and common sense temper your Courage. 
It is a peculiarity of fearsome natures that on occa- 
sion and under the stimulation of strong emotion 
their timidity gives place to sudden outbursts of 
temerity. Of course, this is unbalanced force and 
no more purposeful nor useful than the accidental 
explosion of a powder magazine. 

Exercise No. 11. Read that wonderfully inspir- 
ing poem, Henley's " Invictus " with concentration 
and at frequent intervals until you are thoroughly 
imbued with the spirit of splendid Courage that 
permeates it. 

WORRY 

Worry is, probably, the most injurious form of 
the Fear-feeling. Where work kills its tens, Worry 
kills its thousands. Worry impairs both mind and 
body. By sapping nerve force, it renders a man 
incapable of his normal mental and physical 
efficiency. 

Professor Elmer Gates and other biologists tell us 
that morbid emotions actually set up a process of 
poisoning in the system. " For each bad emotion, " 
says Gates, " there is a corresponding chemical 
change in the tissues of the body. Every good 
emotion makes a life-promoting change. Every 



FEAR— TIMIDITY— WORRY 93 

thought that enters the mind is registered in the 
brain by a change in the structure of its cells. The 
change is a physical change more or less permanent. 
* * * Any one may go into the business of 
building his own mind for an hour each day, calling 
up pleasant memories and ideas. Let him sum- 
mon feelings of benevolence and unselfishness, 
making this a regular exercise like swinging dumb- 
bells. Let him gradually increase the time devoted 
to these psychical exercises until it reaches sixty 
or ninety minutes each day. At the end of a month 
he will find the change in himself surprising. The 
alteration will be apparent in his actions and 
thoughts. It will have registered in the cell struc- 
ture of his brain." 

It has been ascertained that impressions regis- 
tered upon the brain create a condition favorable to 
the reception of similar impressions. It follows, 
then, that the more a man indulges in Worry, the 
more susceptible to that emotion he becomes. But 
the same thing holds good of desirable emotions, 
such as Cheerfulness, Courage and Optimism. So 
that, if a man would be freed from a tendency to 
Worry, he can not do better than cultivate the state 
in which the brain is most ready to receive im- 
pressions contrary to those of Worry, Fear and 
Melancholy. 

Worry is inconsistent with sound health. Its 



94 EVERYDAY EFFICIENCY 

persistence must inevitably result in serious bodily 
disorders, especially those related to the digestive 
orders. On the other hand, lack of physical tone 
is frequently the primary cause of Worry, or at 
least an aggravating factor. Wholesome food, 
vigorous exercise and abundant sleep are the best 
mediums for this and all other morbid conditions 
of the mind. 

Quick relief from an ordinary attack of Worry 
may be had by taking a cold bath — if possible a 
plunge. Some one has said that we never bring 
out of a cold bath the thoughts that we take into it. 
Another ready remedy for an incipient attack of the 
blues is five minutes of deep breathing in fresh air 
and fifteen minutes brisk walk, whistling lively airs 
the while. 

Worry, like Fear, is largely based on imagination. 
At the first indication of the emotion, lay bare the 
cause of it and subject it to cold reason. The re- 
sult will almost invariably be to show that it is 
groundless, or nearly so. But, let it grow, and it 
will shortly be enveloped in a vague mist of appre- 
hension, through which it will loom in undefined 
and fearful form. 

The appeal to Reason should be effective in the 
case of Worry, for, whilst some sort of plausible 
justification for Fear can often be found, it is im- 
possible to establish an excuse for Worry. It is an 



FEAR— TIMIDITY— WORRY 95 

absolutely useless expenditure of nerve energy. 
No advantage whatever can come of it, but, on the 
contrary, it must render one less capable of coping 
with the conditions that are the subject of anxiety. 



BOOKS 
Culture of Courage, Haddock. Pelton Publish- 
ing Co., Meriden, Conn. 

Timidity: How to Overcome It, Mental Efficiency 
Series. Funk & Wagnalls, New York. 

An Iron Will, Marden. Thomas Y. Crowell 
Company, New York. 



REVIEW QUESTIONS 
IV 

31. What are the fundamental causes of Fear? 

32. What is the most effective practice for the eradica- 
tion of Fear- feeling? 

33. What part does physical attitude play in the creation 
of feeling? 



96 EVERYDAY EFFICIENCY 

34. Give an example of the effect of physical attitude 
upon mind, or vice versa. 

35. Briefly outline a method of combined Courage 
cultivation and Fear eradication. 

36. Name the three kinds of Courage. 

37. Why is Suggestion especially effective in the culti- 
vation of Courage? 

38. How does Concentration tend to suppress Timidity ? 

39. What are the physical effects of Worry and other 
morbid emotions? 

40. What physical conditions are most conducive to 
riddance from Worry? 



LESSON FIVE 

CHEERFULNESS 

Cheerfulness is the lubricant of the " Wheel of 
Life." It lightens labor, diminishes difficulties and 
mitigates misfortunes. After what we may term 
the essential virtues, Cheerfulness is the most 
desirable quality. And it is the most conspicuously 
absent among Americans. " I question if care and 
doubt ever wrote their names so legibly on the 
faces of any other population," said Emerson; " old 
age begins in the nursery." With us the " wheel " 
is allowed to become rusted with worry and clogged 
with the dust and lint of petty frictions, so that the 
round of daily life is made doubly difficult and 
wearing. 

It is possible for a cheerless man to achieve suc- 
cess, but he does so at terrible cost to himself and 
others. He can not enjoy money, position and 
other attainments, for the power of enjoyment soon 
passes away from him. He never appreciates the 
truth that happiness is to be found in living, in 
endeavor, in pursuit. The object striven for sel- 
dom brings the anticipated happiness. The man 
who views life as a painful drudgery to be com- 

97 



98 EVERYDAY EFFICIENCY 

pensated for by the ultimate realization of a 
supreme desire has grievous disappointments in 
store for him. Said Stevenson : " O toiling hands 
of mortals! O unwearied feet, traveling ye know 
not whither! Little do ye know your own blessed- 
ness ; for to travel hopefully is better than to arrive, 
and the true success is to labor/' 

Surely we must look for happiness along the 
road, — not at the end of it. There is a tremendous 
amount of satisfaction and pleasure to be got out 
of the hardest journey through life. The secret of 
finding it is to make Cheerfulness a constant daily 
habit. 

I have traveled a great deal about the world and 
off the beaten tracks with different companions. 
Some men will find in the hardships and discom- 
forts of the wilderness sources of genuine interest 
and amusement, whilst others will be driven to 
despondency and irritability by the same conditions. 
But, you protest, that is a matter of temperament. 
It may be, no doubt, but it is not necessarily so. 
I have known a man who was physically bilious and 
temperamentally melancholy to acquire a buoyant 
and cheerful disposition. 

Marden quotes a Yorkshireman as saying in 
meeting: " I see our brother who has just sat down 
lives on Grumbling street. I lived there myself for 
some time and never enjoyed good health. The air 



CHEERFULNESS 99 

was bad, the house bad, the water bad; the birds 
never came and sang in the street; and I was 
gloomy and sad enough. But I flitted, I got into 
Thanksgiving avenue; and ever since I have had 
good health, and so have all my family. The air is 
pure, the house good; the sun shines on it all day; 
the birds are always singing; and I am happy as I 
can live. Now, I recommend our brother to flit. 
There are plenty of houses to let on Thanksgiving 
avenue; and he will find himself a new man if he 
will only come; and I shall be right glad to have 
him for a neighbor." 

Cheerfulness is, as a matter of fact, one of the 
most easily acquired characteristics. Unlike most 
cultivable traits, it carries its reward in immediate 
effects, so that there is constant encouragement to 
persevere. Cheerfulness is infectious. Every ray 
of brightness that you throw out is reflected back 
upon you. The cultivation of cheerfulness is ac- 
companied by pleasure from the start. There is no 
pain, self-denial, nor even serious difficulty involved 
in the process. It is merely a matter of setting up 
earnest desire and making a reasonable effort to 
attain it. 

Don't entertain the common illusion that Cheer- 
fulness and Happiness are dependent upon ex- 
traneous conditions. Both are essentially mental 
states that begin and end in the soul. Men who 



ioo EVERYDAY EFFICIENCY 

appear to have everything that the heart could 
desire are often unhappy and cheerless. On the 
other hand, the heavily afflicted and the poverty- 
stricken frequently display the sunniest disposi- 
tions. Said the Abbe Gaime to Rousseau when a 
youth : " If each man could read the hearts of all 
others, there would be more people who would 
prefer to come down than to rise in the world." 
The wise old monk intended to intimate that the 
most happiness and contentment is to be found in 
the lower walks of life. 

It must be assumed that you appreciate the ad- 
vantages of a cheerful disposition. Aside from its 
influence upon your health and happiness, is its all- 
important effect upon your work. No man afflicted 
with a morose disposition can be more than fifty 
per cent efficient. On the other hand, the man of 
happy temperament will find joy in labor and put 
all of himself into his task. " Give us, O give us, 
the man who sings at his work ! Be his occupation 
what it may, he is equal to any of those who follow 
the same pursuit in silent sullenness. He will do 
more in the same time — he will do it better — he will 
persevere longer. One is scarcely sensible to 
fatigue whilst he marches to music. The very 
stars are said to make harmony as they revolve in 
their spheres. Wondrous is the strength of cheer- 
fulness, altogether past calculation its power of 



CHEERFULNESS 101 

endurance. Efforts to be permanently useful must 
be uniformly joyous — a spirit all sunshine, grateful 
for very gladness, beautiful because bright." To 
this eloquent declaration of Carlyle, let us add the 
testimony of Phillips Brooks : " Joy in one's work 
is the consummate tool, without which the work 
may be done, indeed, but without which the work 
will always be done slowly, clumsily, and without 
its finest perfection." 

Before going farther it will be advisable to 
enquire whether there is any fundamental cause for 
your lack of Cheerfulness, or whether, as is fre- 
quently the case, it is merely an habitual mood into 
which you have drifted unawares. Cheerfulness is 
a natural condition in a healthy man whose life is 
well-ordered. It is just as natural that depression, 
surliness and unhappiness should result from ill- 
health, unwholesome food, insufficient sleep, re- 
stricted breathing, uneasy conscience, and other 
harmful conditions. Examine yourself carefully in 
these respects and if you discover any condition or 
habit t'^at militates against the acquisition of the 
Cheerful Mood, eradicate it at any cost. 

Now let us suppose that there is no serious 
obstacle in the way of your becoming habitually 
Cheerful, — no sound reason why you should not be 
so. How shall we go about effecting the desired 
object? 



102 EVERYDAY EFFICIENCY 

We have said that Cheerfulness is essentially a 
mental condition. It can be created regardless of 
outward conditions and maintained intact despite 
anything which may befall you. It is in the mind 
that we must carry on the process of cultivation. 
As a basis we need an earnest desire and determina- 
tion to succeed. For the rest, a few simple prac- 
tices, adhered to with perseverance, will carry us 
to our goal. 

METHOD OF FOSTERING CHEERFULNESS 
Exercise No. 12. By this time you should have 
two or three short periods of your day regularly set 
aside for exercises in Self-Improvement. You are 
now advised to appropriate fifteen minutes daily to 
the cultivation of the Cheerful Optimistic Attitude. 
Go into some quiet place and reflect on the many 
possessions and conditions for which you are to be 
thankful. Think of the many among your acquaint- 
ances who do not enjoy half your blessings. Sum 
up the greatest of your misfortunes and consider 
how much worse they might have been. Shake 
the shadows of the past off your shoulders. Look 
into the future and survey the mine of opportunity 
and possible attainment it holds for you. In short, 
turn all the sunlight you can summon into your 
soul. 

Much depends upon starting the day rightly. 



CHEERFULNESS 103 

And it is so easy to get into the right attitude. 
Sing or whistle as you dress and take a cheery smile 
to the breakfast table. Greet the first man you 
encounter on the street with a genial salutation. 
Exchange a few pleasant remarks with the car con- 
ductor and any acquaintances you may meet. By 
the time you reach the office you will be in a fitting 
mood to enter upon the day's work with cheerful 
optimism. After that only a serious mishap can 
disturb your serenity. 

Before reaching this stage of the Course you 
must have learned from experience something of 
the scope and effectiveness of Auto-Suggestion. 
It should occur to you without prompting to em- 
ploy it in this connection. In the practice of 
psychotherapy it is found that greater results are 
secured in the effort to inculcate hope and cheerful- 
ness than in any other direction. Physicians lay 
special stress upon the importance of filling the 
mind with cheery thoughts during the last minutes 
of wakefulness. By this means the Subjective mind 
is induced to a harmonious state which continues 
after the subject has lost consciousness and, per- 
haps, throughout the night. The desired effect 
may be enhanced by affirming confidently that you 
will awake in the morning buoyant, optimistic and 
eager for the day's work. 

This method has proved effective in countless 



104 EVERYDAY EFFICIENCY 

cases of persons handicapped by disease or heavy 
mental affliction. A normally healthy man should 
get satisfactory results with comparative ease. 

Follows a quotation from Professor William 
James of Harvard by way of strengthening your 
confidence : " We are just now witnessing a very 
copious unlocking of ideas through the converts to 
metaphysical healing, or other forms of spiritual 
philosophy. The ideas are healthy-minded and 
optimistic: The power, small or great, comes in 
various shapes to the individual; power not to 
' mind ' things that used to vex one ; power to con- 
centrate one's mind; good cheer; good temper; a 
firmer and more elastic tone." 

We must not overlook another important conse- 
quence of this self-treatment. Physiologists assure 
us that all emotions have a more or less permanent 
effect upon the nervous system, involving changes 
in the cell structure of a favorable character or 
otherwise. The condition created tends to increase 
the subject's susceptibility to the influence and so 
promotes mental habit. In other words, every 
quarter of an hour which you spend in cheerful 
thoughts will increase the receptivity of your 
mind to that kind of emotion, and in time it will be 
a great deal easier for you to be Cheerful than 
otherwise. 



CHEERFULNESS 105 

THE SAVING GRACE OF HUMOR 
Cultivate a sense of humor. The thing can be 
done and, indeed, is not greatly difficult. I am in- 
clined to believe that sense of humor is an almost 
universally innate trait. Nearly every child dis- 
plays it strongly. Some retain it in an active state 
through life, whilst others allow it to become dor- 
mant under the depressive influence of hard and 
prosaic experiences. But I suspect that it is there, 
none the less, and may be revived by the most 
Melancholy Jacques among us, if we will but take 
the trouble to look for the humorous side of things. 
There always is a humorous side and by per- 
sistently looking for it we may soon develop a keen 
detective sense of humor. And that is about as 
valuable a possession as a man may have. 

There is a world of wisdom in the old Hebrew 
proverb, " a merry heart doeth good like a medi- 
cine." Any doctor will tell you that a hearty laugh 
is worth more than a bottle of physic. Physiologists 
are agreed that laughter has a decidedly beneficial 
effect upon the system. Dr. Green asserts that 
" there is not one remote corner or little inlet of 
the minute blood vessels of the human body that 
does not feel some wavelet from the convulsions 
occasioned by a good strong laugh." To those who 
have never tried it, let me recommend, as a first- 



106 EVERYDAY EFFICIENCY 

class promoter of humor and cheer, a thoroughly 
abandoned romp with a healthy four-year-old. 
The man who can spend an hour thus without feel- 
ing bigger and better for it needs to consult a physi- 
cian or an alienist. 

DON'T BEMOAN MISFORTUNES 
We take ourselves and the trifling exigencies of 
life too seriously. A little of the philosophy of in- 
souciance would not harm most of us. That, and 
the ability to " see ourselves as others see us." 
When Jones treats his lumbago or the loss of a 
few dollars as though it were a national calamity, 
we appreciate the absurdity of the thing, but we 
are quite oblivious to the same kind of weakness in 
ourselves. Occasional retrospect will help to create 
a sense of true proportion. Look back from to-day 
on the thing that you got all fussed up over yes- 
terday or last week, and you'll wonder how you 
could have let it disturb you at all. 

This recommendation suggests a caution which 
can not be too strongly emphasized. Avoid dwell- 
ing on errors and failures. It is not advised that 
these should be lightly dismissed from memory, 
however. When you have made a mistake or 
failed in an undertaking, analyze the circumstances 
deliberately. Search for causes and decide where 
your course of action was ill-judged or weak. 



CHEERFULNESS 107 

Then determine to eliminate such experiences from 
the future. And put the thing behind you. Don't 
waste a single moment on useless regrets or futile 
wishes that you had done otherwise. 

Mistakes and errors treated in this manner may 
be converted into valuable assets. Instead of caus- 
ing depression, they will afford encouragement. 
You will say to yourself: "Well, that was a bad 
blunder, but it might have been worse. At any 
rate, the same sort of thing is not going to happen 
again. So that, as a matter of fact, I have gained 
by the experience." 

In short, look at the matter from the cheery 
aspect. Form a habit of making the best of every- 
thing. Cultivate the Mark Tapley temperament. 
This doesn't mean that you are to utterly disregard 
the " spilt milk," but that you should refrain from 
crying over it when no good can be gained by do- 
ing so. It is largely a matter of mood and it is 
quite as easy to maintain the Cheerful Mood as it is 
to indulge the Mood of Depression. 

A reasonable egotism is to be recommended. 
And this may be fostered by patting yourself on the 
back judiciously and at frequent intervals. Regu- 
larity is advised in all these exercises as the surest 
and the easiest way. With progress you will find 
that the time devoted to the practices may be 
shortened or the intervals between them lengthened. 



108 EVERYDAY EFFICIENCY 

Exercise No. 13. Devote an hour each week to 
recalling past successes. Review them analytically, 
examining the occasions, causes, conditions and re- 
sults. Always seek to discover cause and effect, 
underlying principle, or law. In these deductions 
you will find valuable guides to future conduct. 

This exercise is designed to create confidence 
and a good opinion of yourself, but it will have 
other beneficial effects. 

THE PETTY FRICTIONS OF LIFE 
Just as we can submit to a broken leg with 
greater resignation than we can to a toothache, so 
most of us are less upset by a serious mishap than 
by one of the many trifling annoyances with which 
the day is rilled. These come upon us unawares, 
like the sting of gnats. They get under our skin 
and set up an irritation before we have time to 
brace ourselves against the effect. Unless, indeed, 
we are habituated to take these disagreeable occur- 
rences philosophically and are provided with that 
best of safety valves, an unfailing sense of humor. 
In themselves these things are of little conse- 
quence, but their effect upon ourselves is of the 
utmost consequence. The wear and tear occasioned 
to the nervous system by irritation, and much more 
by anger, is highly detrimental to efficiency. And, 



CHEERFULNESS 109 

of course, it is downright destructive to Cheerful- 
ness. In our effort to cultivate this quality we shall 
probably experience our greatest difficulty in estab- 
lishing habitual calmness under the friction of 
everyday life. As Arnold Bennett explains, in 
" The Human Machine," this difficulty is due to lack 
of brain training and control. Fortified by Rea- 
son, Will and the preparation of thought, we can 
acquit ourselves creditably in serious emergencies, 
but the little things come upon us unexpectedly 
and we are betrayed into exhibitions of weakness. 
The remedy lies in schooling the brain to instant 
action of the desired nature when the occasion 
arises, and the object will not be attained without 
persistence in the face of many failures. You must 
not hope to replace a confirmed habit by an entirely 
contrary one without exercising patience and 
determination. 

A man who used to be uncommonly susceptible 
to irritation, received from a friend a little frame 
in which was set the legend: " Is this to ruffle you, 
O my soul!" This simple mechanical device ad- 
mirably met the chief requirement of the situa- 
tion, — to wit, an instant reminder. It stood upon 
the irascible person's desk and he soon formed the 
habit of instinctively turning his eyes upon it the 
moment an occasion for irritation arose. A few 
weeks saw a marked improvement in this man, 



no EVERYDAY EFFICIENCY 

going to show that his irritability was the result 
of habit rather than actual ill-nature. 

Arnold Bennett, referring to his own experience 
in the matter, suggests the proper attitude toward 
the petty frictions of life. " This day is before me," 
he says. " The circumstances of this day are my 
environment; they are the material out of which, 
by means of my brain, I have to live and be happy 
and refrain from causing unhappiness in other peo- 
ple. * * * The facts of to-day, which in my 
regeneracy I regarded primarily as anxieties, nui- 
sances, impediments, I now regard as so much raw 
material from which my brain has to weave a tissue 
of life that is comely." In short, these difficulties, 
obstacles, annoyances, are to be accepted as part 
of the inevitable fabric of life and turned to good 
account. We get an extension of the idea from the 
following lines of Longfellow: 



& 



" All common things, each day's events, 
That with the hour begin and end 
Our pleasures and our discontents, 
Are rounds by which we may ascend." 

These little things of daily life make up a con- 
stant field of discipline. The man who habitually 
maintains his equanimity under the trivial annoy- 
ances and the frequent friction of commonplace 
occurrences will be equal to the graver crises. 



CHEERFULNESS m 

THE ART OF BEING AGREEABLE 
The amenities are sorely neglected in our centres 
of population. Go where you will — in the club or 
the cafe, on the streets or in the store — the prevail- 
ing manner of the crowd is brusque. This is not 
due to innate churlishness, but to our habit of 
hurry and concentration on business. You do not 
find the same lack of civility and geniality in the 
country. It is distinctly a city trait. And yet the 
business man, if he would but realize it, can make 
a splendid investment in cultivating the art of being 
agreeable. So rare is its exhibition that we all 
appreciate it immensely, and the cheerful, genial 
man makes friends everywhere. And friends entail 
business success. 

A Hindi proverb runs : " On the road to Delhi I 
met a hundred men and they were all my brothers." 
If you will go along your daily " road to Delhi " 
with something of the attitude of this pilgrim there 
is little fear of your failing in courtesy and geniality. 
It is entirely a matter of recognizing the other fel- 
low's rights, being a little in sympathy with him 
and displaying a little interest in his welfare. 

The surly man is necessarily boorish; the cheer- 
ful man as necessarily cordial. If your Cheerful- 
ness be the outcome of real feeling, and not consist 
merely in an artificial smile, your natural attitude 



ii2 EVERYDAY EFFICIENCY 

toward others will be such as to excite good-will 
and create friends. To the business man the ques- 
tion of policy must weigh no less heavily than that 
of ethics in considering the advantages of cultivat- 
ing a Cheerful and Optimistic disposition. 

Note. Assuming that you need to cultivate the 
qualities which are the subject of this paper, start 
a daily record in your File on the following lines: 
Every time that you are Cheerful under depressing 
conditions credit yourself with C + ; every time that 
you withstand inclination to Irritation credit your- 
self with 1+ ; every time that you take pains to be 
Agreeable credit yourself with A-f-. In contrary 
circumstances debit yourself with C — , I — , or A — , 
as the case may be. Strike a balance once a week. 
At the end of a month examine the records critically 
for indications of improvement. Maintain the prac- 
tice as long as necessary. With the passage of time 
the entries of both kinds should become steadily 
fewer, because with the cultivation of equanimity 
and geniality you will gradually become habituated 
to the proper attitude or action, and coincidently 
there will be an increase of the occasions that will 
cause no struggle nor thought. 

BOOKS 
Any books of the optimistic uplifting kind, and 
occasionally a volume of a humorous character. 



CHEERFULNESS 113 

REVIEW QUESTIONS 
V 

41. Why is Cheerfulness more easy to cultivate than 
most characteristics? 

42. What are the chief results of habitual Cheerfulness ? 

43. What physical conditions are important factors in 
producing Cheerfulness ? 

44. What is a " reasonable egotism " ? 

45. Why is regularity advisable in your exercises and 
practices ? 

46. Why is it less difficult to acquit oneself creditably 
in an heroic emergency than in a commonplace 
situation ? 

47. Name the essential remedy for irritation. 

48. Why is it reasonable to be Cheerful under all cir- 
cumstances ? 

49. How should mistakes and failures be treated? 

50. What is the secret of being agreeable? 



LESSON SIX 

POISE— OBSERVATION— MEMORY 

The dictionary definition of Poise is : " the state 
or quality of being balanced ; equilibrium ; equipoise ; 
hence, figuratively, equanimity, rest." 

Poise as applied to a person is capable of con- 
veying two distinct ideas. 1. It may imply the 
condition described by the phrases : " an all-round 
man; a well-balanced man; a broad-gauge man," 
all of which imply fullness of character and many- 
sided development. 2. It may imply self-control, 
calmness, etc. The word is most commonly em- 
ployed in this sense. 

Poise in the former sense is one of the most com- 
mon lacks of Americans. Our devotion to business 
is so complete that it leaves no room for develop- 
ment along other lines. We are all acquainted 
with successful men of affairs who, outside of their 
vocations and directly related subjects, are pro- 
foundly ignorant. 

The man who goes through life with no interest 

but that of making money has a sorry existence at 

best. The tragedy of his failure becomes manifest 

114 



POISE— OBSERVATION— MEMORY 115 

in the evening of life when he seeks the enjoyment 
of leisure and discovers that he has lost all capacity 
for it. A man who amassed an enormous fortune 
by forty years' incessant application to business, 
with the result that at sixty he had no interest out- 
side of his factory, more than once expressed to the 
writer the keenest regret that he had entirely 
neglected self-culture. 

One of the principal reasons for the great preva- 
lence of the Worry habit is to be found in the fact 
that so many men have no refuge from their busi- 
ness cares. On the other hand are the fortunate 
individuals who have cultivated hobbies in which 
they can find unfailing mental diversion. One of 
the most hard-working men in this country has 
made a deep study of paleontology, and ten minutes 
after he has opened a cabinet of fossils his mind is 
transported to the distant ages before the earth was 
peopled. 

Constant thought upon the same subject entails 
harmful wear on the nervous system, causing stale- 
ness and, not infrequently, nervous breakdown. 
Incessant brain activity may be maintained without 
injury, provided it is accompanied by change of 
mental occupation. Indeed, all the " rest " which 
the mind needs may be found in diversified exercise 
of it. 

It is well known that the hardest workers are 



n6 EVERYDAY EFFICIENCY 

commonly subject to periodical spells of the 
" dumps." Observation has convinced me that the 
chief cause of this condition is close and long-con- 
tinued application to business without any mental 
diversion. In order to maintain freshness and vigor 
in his work, a man must have relief and relaxation 
from it at regular intervals. But, unless he has 
some counter-interest to which he can resort, there 
is grave danger of his leisure being spent in a man- 
ner which will do him more harm than good. 

GROWTH IN BREADTH AND HEIGHT 
Self-improvement results in development by in- 
tensity, diversity, or both. 

It is important to secure breadth with height in 
growth. This can be done by having interests be- 
sides those of business. Have at least one serious 
interest outside of your vocation. Indulge your 
inclination freely in making a choice and be assured 
that the pursuit of any study in the fields of science, 
art, rr^usic, philosophy, and what not, will increase 
your general efficiency and your vocational ability. 
In selecting a subject do not overlook the spe- 
cial advantage to be gained from one having a 
direct bearing upon your business. Such would 
be the case with Applied Psychology, for example. 
Your everyday occupation would afford you "oppor- 
tunities for practically testing the theories learned 



POISE— OBSERVATION— MEMORY 117 

in your study, whilst imparting an added interest to 
your regular work. 

Don't plead want of time as an excuse for not 
following the advice given here. The matter has 
such an important bearing upon your happiness and 
success in life that few things can justly claim 
precedence to it in the demands upon your time. 
When we reach the section of the Course dealing 
with Functional Efficiency I shall show you how 
you may find several hours a week for new employ- 
ment without taking time from any of your present 
occupations. We shall make more time available 
as surely as though we had the miraculous power 
of lengthening the day. If it is not practicable at 
present to devote three or four hours a week to a 
new pursuit, postpone action until after you have 
put into practice the Lesson on " Time Consump- 
tion/' In the meantime make a decision as to the 
subject of your special study, after careful con- 
sideration of the many points affecting the question. 
A great deal depends upon a judicious choice and 
adherence to it. 



POISE IN THE SENSE OF SELF-CONTROL 
Now let us consider Poise as that mental quality 
which enables us to maintain equanimity under all 
circumstances. This is not to be confused with 



n8 EVERYDAY EFFICIENCY 

phlegmatism, the heaviness of disposition which 
precludes acute feeling. Nor is the mere suppres- 
sion of emotion to be mistaken for Poise. Some 
men take a great deal of pains to kill their natural 
feelings. They are not poised, but devitalized. 
Poise is not passivity. No more perfect picture of 
Poise is possible than that of Blondin swaying on 
a slack wire. Poise is balance. It is not sup- 
pressed emotion, but controlled emotion. A clam 
is not poised; neither is the human bromidian. 
The man who never laughs, whose voice never 
breaks the dead level of monotonous intonation is 
only half living. Poise is largely conditioned on 
restrained force, energy in reserve. It is not lack 
of emotion or the power to feel that constitutes 
Poise, but command over the emotions and feel- 
ings. 

According to Starke, " Poise is composed mainly 
of the following qualities : Will ; reason ; knowledge 
of one's own value; correctness of judgment; sin- 
cerity toward oneself; the power of resisting the 
--" , -■ — 

appeals of self-love ; contempt of adverse criticism ; 
pride that is free from vanity ; a definite and clearly 
conceived ambition." This is too broad an analysis 
to permit of a detailed examination here, but it is 
recommended to consideration for its suggestive- 
ness. The author of " Poise : How to Attain It," 
views that quality as constituting almost the whole 



POISE— OBSERVATION— MEMORY 1 19 

of personality; whereas, it is more properly to be 
regarded as pervading personality. 

A better summary of what constitutes Poise than 
that presented in Kipling's poem " If " it would be 
difficult to find. It is too long for quotation in this 
place, but you are strongly recommended to read it. 

Exercise, digestion, relaxation, rest and deep 
breathing are conducive to Poise — exercise by 
stimulating the circulation ; digestion by facilitating 
the natural operation of the organs; relaxation 
by conserving nerve force; rest by generating 
strength; and deep-breathing by inducing a sense 
of vigor. These are all matters which will be ex- 
tensively discussed in the section of the Course 
dealing with Physical Efficiency. 

But, whilst these physical conditions tend to pro- 
mote Poise, that quality is, in its ultimate mani- 
festation, a product of the mind. The self-mastery 
which enables a man to sustain his balance under 
extremes of good and bad fortune and to maintain 
calmness in the conduct of the everyday affairs of 
life, roots in a mental condition. Mastery of one's 
mind — the ability to shut it off from certain trains 
of thought at will — is a potent factor in the cultiva- 
tion of Poise. Uncontrolled thought of the chaotic 
kind characteristic of day-dreams, is injurious to 
Poise, if not destructive of it. The power of con- 
centration, involving command of mind, enables 



120 EVERYDAY EFFICIENCY 

you to fix it upon any subject you choose and banish 
from it at will any thoughts you do not desire to 
entertain. 

Haddock, Starke, and other writers on the sub- 
ject agree that the employment of Suggestion is 
especially effective in the effort to acquire Poise. 
The frequent affirmation of calmness and self-con- 
trol tends to induce the corresponding mental con- 
dition. And, since Poise is partially a physical 
condition, certain bodily exercises facilitate its 
acquisition. 

The mind and body act and react upon each other 
in the exercise of Poise. The mental condition of 
calmness will be reflected in the physical bearing. 
On the other hand, the willed state of physical 
repose will induce mental calmness and self- 
possession. 

Arnold Bennett gives us the key to the proper 
mental training for Poise in the statement that " a 
x person's character is, and can be, nothing else but 
the total result of his habits of thought." If you 
are accustomed to thinking in a disorderly, excitable 
or feeble manner your mind can not be poised. The 
remedy lies in a course of discipline which must be 
regulated by consideration of your particular weak- 
nesses. Aside from any special regime you may 
adopt, make a practice of keeping a watch on your 
mental processes and repressing every tendency of 



POISE— OBSERVATION— MEMORY 121 

the mind toward wandering, excitement or ex- 
aggeration. Absence of Poise is always more or 
less due to false reasoning and deficient sense of 
proportion. This may be cured by a thorough 
study of some book on logic. Jevon's " Lessons in 
Logic," — an elementary work — supplemented by 
appropriate practice will serve all ordinary needs. 
Previous exercises given in this Course, — especially 
those connected with concentration, self-confidence, 
timidity and irritation — will aid in the cultivation 
of Poise. 

PRACTICES IN POISE 

Exercise No. 14. Assuming that there are situa- 
tions in which you are peculiarly liable to experi- 
ence want of Poise, make a thoughtful examination 
of such situations with a view to determining ex- 
actly what disturbs your mental balance and why. 
Rehearse such a situation in detail after the manner 
described in Exercise No. 10. 

Devote fifteen minutes or half an hour to this 
practice at regular intervals as long as necessary. 

There are a number of simple exercises which 
combine practice in mental and physical poise. A 
few of these are described below. Other exercises, 
having a tendency to promote Poise, will be given 
at later stages of the Course. 



122 EVERYDAY EFFICIENCY 

Exercise No. 15. Stand erect, heels together, 
head up and chest advanced, arms hanging by sides. 
If the position is correct the weight will be directly 
on the heels, there will be no sense of effort, but 
one of easy balance. Let the breath come slow and 
full, which can only be done by using the diaphragm 
in the manner of a bellows. Look steadily, without 
blinking and without staring, at some object on a 
level with the eyes. If any movement of the body, 
eyes or eyelids occurs, break off for a minute and 
resume the exercise. 

Practice for thirty seconds at a time (to be gradu- 
ally lengthened) with several repetitions and in- 
tervals of rest between. 

Exercise No. 16. Sitting comfortably, with mind 
and muscles relaxed, retain the position without the 
slightest movement until it begins to be irksome. 
Then break off and repeat after a short rest. Be 
sure that the breathing is full and regular through- 
out the exercise. 

The two following practices are recommended by 
Haddock : 

Exercise No. 17. " This exercise should be ob- 
served through life. Acquire the habit of physical 
quietness while the body is mainly at rest. 
Whether sitting or standing, eliminate all unneces- 



POISE— OBSERVATION— MEMORY 123 

sary movements of hands, fingers, legs, feet, eyes, 
lips. * * * In order thereto practise periods 
of sitting and standing while thinking of these 
motions but resolutely forbidding them. Set regu- 
lar hours for this exercise, varied in position. Al- 
ways practise when weary or nervous. Put into 
the exercise great strength but calmness of Will." 

Exercise No. 18. " The surest steadiness of 
nerves and muscles must come from poise of soul 
and tone of health. You can acquire the first if 
you will take a few minutes each day for absolute 
quietness of body and mind, shutting out all ideas 
of hurry, worry, business and activity of every kind, 
thinking intensely of, and asserting that you are 
now in a state of perfect mental poise." 

Poise is a highly practical quality of especial value 
to men whose business involves negotiations with 
virtual strangers. It is essential to success in sales- 
manship. The mental alertness, self-control and 
presence of mind that are necessary in influencing 
men against their inclinations depend upon Poise. 

The condemnable doctrine of " hustle " is con- 
trary to both reason and experience. It may apply 
to a baggage-shover or a coal-heaver, but certainly 
not to any man whose work demands the exercise 
of intelligent mental action. Hustle, or hurry, — 



I2 4 EVERYDAY EFFICIENCY 

the words are synonymous — is the very antithesis 
of Poise. Controlled and regulated energy will 
accomplish ten times as much as the most frenzied 
hustling and, what is more, the result of the former 
will conform to preconceived plan, whilst that of the 
latter is always more or less affected by chance. 

When Joseph Lyons, who is famous throughout 
two continents for the enormous amount of work 
he has done, was asked how he has accomplished so 
much without "hustling" he replied: "By organ- 
izing myself and my business to run smoothly; by 
schooling myself to keep cool, and to do what I 
have to do without expending more nervous energy 
on the task than necessary ; by avoiding all nervous 
friction. In consequence, when I finish my day's 
work I am nearly as fresh as when I started." 

In the same connection Professor William James 
says : " Your intense, convulsive worker breaks 
down and has bad moods so often that you never 
know where he may be when you most need his 
help. * * * We say that so many of our fellow- 
countrymen collapse and have to be sent abroad 
to rest their nerves, because they work so hard. I 
suspect that this is an immense mistake. I suspect 
that neither the nature nor the amount of our work 
is accountable for the frequency and severity of 
our breakdowns, but that their cause lies rather in 
those absurd feelings of hurry and having no time, 



POISE—OBSERVATION— MEMORY 125 

in that breathlessness and tension, that anxiety of 
future and that solicitude of results, that lack of 
inner harmony and ease, in short, by which, with us, 
the work is apt to be accomplished, and from which 
a European who should do the same work would 
nine times out of ten be free. * * * It is your re- 
laxed and easy worker who is in no hurry, and quite 
thoughtless most of the while of consequences, who 
is your efficient worker; and tension and anxiety 
and present and future all mixed up together in 
one mind at once, are the surest drags upon steady 
progress and hindrances to our success." 

CORRECT OBSERVATION 
Perhaps no faculty is more generally undeveloped 
than the power of Observation. This is probably 
due to neglect and defects in early training. With 
most of us the faculty of Observation is only keenly 
exercised when our interest is greatly excited. If 
six men were to give individual accounts of some 
ordinary street occurrence which all had witnessed, 
it is almost certain that the story of each would 
differ, in at least one important particular, from 
those of the others. But, should the same six men 
attend a play, it is quite likely that their descrip- 
tions of it would be in substantial agreement. 

We go about looking at everything and not 
actually seeing half that our eyes gaze upon, unless 



126 EVERYDAY EFFICIENCY 

some unusual condition stimulates the mind to con- 
centration. A fairly expert whist player will have 
no difficulty in recalling the composition of each of 
the thirteen tricks of a hand played shortly before. 
Probably, as he does so, mental pictures of the 
cards as they actually lay on the table will occur to 
him. He made no attempt to memorize the tricks 
as they were played, but he visualized them. Kip- 
ling's wonderful stories owe their peculiar vividness 
to his extraordinary power of Observation. His 
eyes operate like the lens of a photographic camera 
and his brain as the sensitized plate on which a 
faithful image of all he sees is impressed. Familiar- 
ity with most of the scenes and characters in his 
Indian tales enables the writer to attest to their 
marvelous accuracy in every detail, although many 
of them were written in England years after the 
experiences they relate. 

DEVELOPING POWER OF OBSERVATION 
Correct Observation is one of the most valuable 
of faculties and the basis of sound reason and judg- 
ment. The person who possesses it will enjoy a 
strong degree of confidence in the facts derived 
from his experience and so will be able to make his 
deductions and formulate his conclusions without 
any of the doubt and uncertainty of the man who 
is unable to depend upon his Observation. 



POISE— OBSERVATION— MEMORY 127 

As has been intimated, the action of Observation 
is stimulated by interest in the subject. It is pos- 
sible to exercise concentration and interest in all 
matters which we permit to engage our attention. 
Such a habit is well worth the pains necessary to 
cultivation. 

Exercise No. 19. The daily experiences of most 
of us embrace idle spells of time, traveling in street 
cars, sitting in the ante-rooms of business or pro- 
fessional offices, waiting for trains, and so forth. 
On such occasions survey the room or surroundings 
with concentrated attention for a few minutes and 
then jot down the objects within view as fully as 
you are able, using for the purpose one of the sev- 
eral blank cards from your file which you should al- 
ways carry. Keep your records and note improve- 
ment in correctness and rapidity of Observation. 

The practice of this exercise for six months will 
go far toward establishing a permanent habit of 
Observation which you will find of great practical 
value. 

Exercise No. 20. Whilst your back is turned, 
have some person place twelve or fifteen different 
articles (the number should be gradually increased) 
haphazard upon a table. When this has been done, 
direct your concentrated attention on the objects 



128 EVERYDAY EFFICIENCY 

for half a minute, then make a note of as many as 
you can remember. Record the results in your file 
and note progress. The memory will be aided by 
classifying the articles where this is possible. For 
instance : Fork, spoon and plate classify as table- 
ware; book and box as rectangular objects, etc. 
With some persons the memory may be better 
stimulated by strongly concentrating the observa- 
tion so that the articles can be visualized in the 
mind afterwards. 

This is splendid training in observation and 
memory. Houdin attributed much of his marvel- 
ous ability to this practice. 

CULTIVATION OF MEMORY 
It is a great mistake to imagine that good 
Memory is derivable only from natural endowment. 
It is within the power of every one to possess a 
good memory. Memory is the aftermath of Con- 
centration and Interest. When we fail to remem- 
ber things which we have seen, the failure is due 
to the fact that we did not see them to the extent of 
realization. Our eyes rested on certain objects, 
but our mind was not concentrated upon them. So 
it is with the difficulty of recollecting things we have 
read or heard. Our Memory of the things in ques- 
tion will be in correspondence with the degree of 
interest excited by them, and, if no effort is made 



POISE— OBSERVATION— MEMORY 129 

to regulate that interest, its force may have no 
relation to the importance of the matter. You are 
likely to remember the plot of a novel long after 
you have forgotten the date of the Chinese Revolu- 
tion. Affairs in which you are especially concerned 
will naturally be most easily retained in your mind. 
A candy manufacturer can readily recall the details 
of the Sugar Schedule in the last Tariff Bill, whilst 
he is, perhaps, unable to bring to mind another item 
of the measure. A lawyer may have difficulty in 
retaining the names of his neighbors, whilst easily 
remembering those of his clients. All of which 
goes to indicate that " bad memory " is simply bad 
management of the faculty. 

It is far from desirable that you should load your 
Memory by the indiscriminate attempt to retain 
every impression that is made upon the brain. In- 
deed, the faculty of judiciously forgetting is of ex- 
treme value. The object is to form a habit of 
deliberate rejection and retention. Then add the 
practice of concentrating the attention on the things 
you desire to remember and trying to invest them 
with special interest. 

" Any object not interesting in itself may become 
interesting through becoming associated with an 
object in which interest already exists," says Pro- 
fessor James. The association suggested here is 
entirely different from that which forms the basis 



130 EVERYDAY EFFICIENCY 

of certain much advertised Memory " systems." 
Though not claiming familiarity with any of these, 
I may say that they appear to be too complex and 
cumbersome to be practical and, furthermore, seem 
to require a fair degree of Memory for their prac- 
tice. 

Judgment should be exercised in the use of note- 
books and memoranda. The more you employ and 
trust the Memory, the better it will serve you. If 
you cannot dispense with memoranda, make them 
so brief that a demand upon the Memory will be 
necessary to recall the details of matters to which 
they refer. 

Macaulay declared that the best informed man 
is not he who knows the most, but he who has the 
most extensive knowledge of sources of informa- 
tion. The mind may be saved from many a burden 
if, instead of memorizing weighty subjects for 
which our future use is uncertain or, at most, only 
occasional, we will remember merely where the in- 
formation is to be had when needed. 

Opportunities for simple, but strengthening, ex- 
ercise of the Memory occur at every moment of the 
day. For example, instead of placing a marker in 
a book, trust to your recollection of the page num- 
ber. Make a mental note of a name or telephone 
number rather than put it on paper. In every such 
case concentrate the mind intensely on the thing to 



POISE— OBSERVATION— MEMORY 131 

be remembered for a few seconds. It is surprising 
how much aid may be secured from the Sub-Con- 
scious, Mind in this respect, provided we form a 
habit of relying upon it with confidence. 



REVIEW QUESTIONS 
VI 

51. Briefly describe the two conditions implied in the 
word " Poise." 

52. What is the chief reason for the wide prevalence 
of the worry habit among American business men? 

53. What is meant by development in breadth as well 
as height? 

54. Name some of the general conditions which are 
favorable to the promotion of Poise. 

55. Is Poise a mental or a physical quality? 

56. How does concentration facilitate the exercise of 
Poise ? 

57. What is the objection to " hustle " and what is the 
preferable form of activity? 

58. What is the chief cause of defective memory? 

59. What two conditions will assuredly secure a good, 
practical memory? 

60. Can the sub-conscious mind be made an aid in the 
exercise of memory? 



LESSON SEVEN 
PURPOSE— IDEALS 

With this lesson the Section on Mental Efficiency 
is brought to a close. Its aim has been the acquisi- 
tion of certain qualities. These qualities go to 
make up Ideal Personality. Personality has its 
practical activity in Functional Efficiency. This, in 
short, is acting and living in the best manner. 

To quote from our first Lesson : " Your most im- 
portant problem is to live in the manner most con- 
ducive to your own benefit and that of others. To 
do this you must have clearly defined principles and 
ideals, as well as rules of conduct, based upon 
them/' In other words, you can not play a useful, 
efficient part in life without a well-defined Purpose 
and a systematic plan for its achievement. The 
cultivation of the qualities which we have discussed 
and the creation of a forceful Personality are fea- 
tures of the training for efficient living. The mere 
possession of powers and qualities has no intrinsic 
value. The value lies in their application. And 

the application can be effective only if it be in- 

132 



PURPOSE— IDEALS 133 

telligently directed toward the attainment of a 
worthy Purpose. Marden summarizes this neces- 
sity in a brief paragraph : " Nothing* can take the 
place of an all-absorbing Purpose. Education will 
not, genius will not, talent will not, industry will 
not, will-power will not. The purposeless life must 
ever be a failure." 

Imagine a ship without a compass. It may have 
high power engines and every other facility for 
navigation and yet ply hither and thither about the 
seas forever, like Vanderdeken's phantom craft, 
without making port. Now and again it may 
derive some direction from the fixed stars, the rising 
sun, or a distant landfall, but what it gains in head- 
way at such times will be lost in leeway at others 
for lack of permanent guidance. 

A man without a Purpose is in the plight of a 
vessel without a compass. He may have the 
capacity for great achievement and accomplish 
nothing. His fluctuating course will be marked by 
alternating stages of forward progress and drifting 
backward. He will have spurts of energy and fits 
of enthusiasm, only to be neutralized by spells of 
vacillation and stagnation. 

The most energetic efforts must prove futile un- 
less inspired by definite aim. Just as the men who 
spend the most money frequently do the least good 
with it, so the busiest man is often the weakest in 



134 EVERYDAY EFFICIENCY 

execution. Napoleon, whose capacity for effective 
action was almost superhuman, attributed this great 
power to the habit of always having his mind made 
up — of constantly keeping a precise Purpose before 
his view. I believe that it was Landseer — the won- 
derful animal painter — who said that the produc- 
tion of a picture would occupy little time if the artist 
knew exactly what he wanted to do when he took 
the palette and brush in hand. 

A Bishop of Exeter — I forget which one — said 
something to this effect: "Of all work that pro- 
duces results worth while, nine-tenths must be 
drudgery. The secret of the true workman's suc- 
cess consists in dauntlessness in the face of com- 
monplace labor, and persistence in the pursuit of 
Purpose." Baudelaire declared that " inspiration is 
the sister of daily labor." He might have added, 
with truth, that Purpose is the parent of inspiration. 
And inspiration is the instinct of success. 

The purposeful mind has a clearly conceived track 
for advance, from which it will allow no deviation. 
Purpose is the rallying point around which it as- 
sembles all its faculties, then marches toward its 
goal with direct motion under the impulse of 
determination and with the force of massed 
resources. 

The man without an aim in life is a sorry creature, 
of little more account in the economy of things 



PURPOSE— IDEALS 135 

than the mollusk, the plaything of chance, the tool 
of stronger personalities, a mere pawn upon the 
chess-board of the work-a-day world. 

Harrington Emerson suggests a simple test to 
demonstrate the power of Purpose. " Walk down 
one side of a crowded street aimlessly, with no par- 
ticular destination in mind. Take note of the fact 
that other people impede your progress, and that 
you turn and twist like a meandering stream as you 
thread your way through the throng. Then turn 
and walk back on the other side of the street, this 
time with a definite object in view. You need not 
hurry, you need not scramble, but, looking neither 
to right nor to left, walk steadily toward your 
chosen destination. Notice now that people get 
out of your way and step aside to let you pass, and 
that your track straightens out." 

Have you ever seen a hose under pressure with- 
out a man at the nozzle? It thrashes about here, 
there and everywhere, scattering water in all direc- 
tions and without any useful effect. Immediately 
a directing hand seizes it the stream is turned upon 
a definite spot, with the desired result. So it is 
with two men — one whose life is aimless and un- 
ordered; the other whose life is regulated by well- 
considered Purpose. Each expends the same 
amount of energy, but one accomplishes little or 
nothing of permanent value, whilst the other carries 



136 EVERYDAY EFFICIENCY 

through undertakings of great benefit to himself 
and his fellows. 

From Charles R. Brown we get the following fine 
simile : " A pile of steel filings and shavings lying 
on the floor of a factory may be fine in quality ; they 
may weigh a ton when placed upon the scales; but 
unorganized they have little value. Organize and 
weld them into a shaft, attach one end of the shaft 
to an engine and the other to a screw propeller, and 
it will send a mighty ocean liner from New York to 
Liverpool in five days. Bring all these bits of steel 
under the organizing power of a Purpose and they 
become effective. In like manner a mind, a heart, 
a soul is nothing more than a confused heap of 
thoughts and wishes, impulses and desires, long- 
ings and aspirations, until by the power of Pur- 
pose all these are brought into unity and made 
effective in their thrust toward some worthy fulfill- 
ment." 

To quote Emerson again : " Persons without 
ultimate ideals and nations without ultimate ideals 
waste untold centuries of time in doing pointless, 
purposeless, useless things. On the contrary, the 
man with the big ideal knows where he is going, 
what he wants. He is therefore able to make every 
thought — every word — every act — every power of 
his mind and body — every penny of values — every 
scrap of the influence or assistance of others — every 



PURPOSE— IDEALS 137 

moment of time — all conspire to the getting of the 
thing he so earnestly desires." 

If you hope for any considerable future attain- 
ment, you must have a definite idea as to what you 
desire to become, to perform, or to possess. Pur- 
pose must have its foundation in a well-conceived 
ideal and a clear-cut plan for pursuing it. I do not 
say for attaining it, because in all probability you 
will never fully realize your principal ideals, and it 
is better that you should not. 

A dictionary definition of " ideal " is: "A stand- 
ard of desire; an ultimate object or aim; a mental 
conception of what is most desirable. ,, 

In order to be a truly purposeful man you must 
have one predominant aim, — one prime Purpose to 
which everything in your life is subordinated or 
made to contribute. This we will call the " Ulti- 
mate Ideal." You will have other related and sub- 
sidiary desires and aims. These we shall call 
" Contributory Ideals." 

A thoroughly clear conception of your objective 
is absolutely necessary to the best plan for reaching 
it, and by " best " is meant the easiest, quickest and 
most economical. Anything short of a perfect 
mental picture of your goal will lead to your taking 
a more or less roundabout route to it, and expend- 
ing unnecessary energy, time, thought, material, 
and so forth, on the way. As a first step, then, in 



138 EVERYDAY EFFICIENCY 

the formation of a Purpose, you must reflect ex- 
haustively on this point. Do not take any further 
step until you have formed a definite idea of what 
is to be your ultimate aim or Ideal. 

If you have never evolved from your mind a 
definite idea of a paramount Purpose in life, you 
must not expect to do so as the result of a few 
hours' reflection. It will probably be years before 
you have fully and finally decided the question, if, 
indeed, you ever do so. An Ideal is the result of 
mental unfoldment. It is a gradual development. 
It begins with a basis of desire which must be 
weighed, examined and tested in a manner that will 
be hereafter indicated. The more you reflect upon 
it, the quicker it will crystallize. After it has 
assumed clear and definite form, thinking about it 
will have the effect of strengthening it, and perhaps 
expanding it. With ambitious, efficient men it 
frequently happens that before an Ideal has been 
realized it is displaced by a more ambitious one. 
In fact, this is the usual course in a successful life. 
The sales manager's position is the aim of the office 
boy. But by the time that he is a few steps re- 
moved from it, his ideal has advanced to the presi- 
dent's office. As sales manager the Ideal is again 
changed to a business of his own. With the 
changes in the Ultimate Ideal there will occur 
changes in the contributory and other Ideals. 



PURPOSE—IDEALS 139 

Your Contributory Ideals should, as the term 
implies, contribute to the advancement of your 
Ultimate Ideal and harmonize with it. For ex- 
ample, let us assume that your Ultimate Ideal is 
to become a successful business man. Among your 
many Contributory Ideals will necessarily be the 
following: To master the technicalities of your 
business; to acquire the mental traits of which this 
Course treats; to secure and maintain perfect 
bodily health ; to save money and to make friends. 

Now, if you are neglecting to learn all that you 
may about your business; if you have any habits 
that impair mental efficiency or physical well-being, 
some of your Contributory Ideals are not promot- 
ing the pursuit of your main Purpose or Ultimate 
Ideal, but are actually retarding it, and, perhaps, 
to a very serious extent. It is of the utmost im- 
portance, therefore, that you should not only give 
thought to the discovery of all Contributory Ideals, 
but also examine each to see that none are in a 
condition to operate harmfully, instead of help- 
fully. 

You will have Ideals which are not directly con- 
nected with either your main or your minor Ideals. 
These are what Emerson calls Lateral Ideals. So 
far as your main Purpose is concerned, these are 
side issues, although they may be distinctly im- 
portant matters. To illustrate : you may entertain 



140 EVERYDAY EFFICIENCY 

the Ideal of being a model parent or expert golf 
player. In most cases these Lateral Ideals will 
contribute more or less to the attainment of your 
Ultimate Ideal. But care must be taken to modify 
or eliminate any which conflict with it. Should 
you find the desire to excel in golf so strong as to 
tempt you to spend time in the game at the expense 
of your business, which is the road to your Ultimate 
Ideal, you must take steps to prevent this interfer- 
ence with the plan for carrying out your Purpose. 

The reason in all this is so obvious that the sug- 
gestions may appear to be almost unnecessary. 
But it is an astonishing fact that thousands upon 
thousands of men go through life violating the 
principles we have been discussing. In the great 
majority of cases these grievous inefficiencies are 
due to sheer lack of thought. I am acquainted with 
a man whose cherished Ideal is to become noted as 
a barrister or court pleader, and he is surely ruining 
his voice by excessive cigarette smoking. I am 
practically certain that this man has never thought 
of the connection between his indulgence and his 
Ultimate Ideal. 

Two other essential conditions are expressed in 
the following quotation from Goethe : " The im- 
portant thing in life is to have a great aim and to 
possess aptitude and the perseverance to attain it." 

As we all know, many men entertain desires 



PURPOSE— IDEALS 141 

which are utterly hopeless owing to lack of aptitude 
to realize them. In fact, hosts of men whose chief 
ambition is success in business life are balked of 
attainment by reason of utter inaptitude for their 
chosen vocations. 

You are strongly advised not to set up Ideals 
without thoughtful consideration of them, with spe- 
cial reference to (1) their real desirability; (2) their 
worth as compared with the effort necessary to 
their attainment; (3) their effect upon your Ulti- 
mate and other Ideals; (4) your capacity for pur- 
suing them successfully. 

Perseverance is a sine qua non. It need only be 
pointed out that when an Ideal has been established 
after due deliberation and consideration of the con- 
ditions enumerated above, it is much more prob- 
able that it will be persistently maintained than 
when it is hastily and thoughtlessly adopted. 

Form definite Ideals. Crystallize them into a 
systematic plan and earnestly strive to carry it out. 
Keep your ultimate goal constantly in mind. Move 
toward it step by step. 

Maintain a cheerful discontent. Labor ever for 
greater and better results. Don't admit of any limit 
to your attainment or capacity. 

What if you do not realize your ambition? What 
if you fall short of your Ideal? Should you do your 
best with the ability at your command and the 



142 EVERYDAY EFFICIENCY 

opportunities available to you, the claim and the 
reward of success will be yours, for, mark you ! 

OUT OF EVERY HONEST PURPOSE, EARNESTLY PURSUED, 
A MAN MUST EMERGE STRONGER AND BETTER FOR HIS EF- 
FORT, EVEN THOUGH THE RESULT MAY FALL FAR SHORT OF 
THE ACCOMPLISHMENT OF HIS UNDERTAKING. 

Exercise No. 21. Open a section of your Ef- 
ficiency File under the main head, " Ideals." In this, 
record a full statement of your Ultimate Ideal. It 
is probable that you will at the same time be able 
to add statements of some Contributory Ideals. 
Lateral Ideals, aspirations, desires and projects for 
self-improvement should find a place in this division 
of your File. 

When you have formed a definite plan for pur- 
suing your Ideal, make a detailed statement of that. 
From time to time you will need to note additions 
and modifications. Developments affecting your 
Purpose should be set down. Every step of ad- 
vance and every retardation should be recorded, so 
that your cards will exhibit a detailed history of 
your effort. At intervals this series of cards should 
be read and progress noted in a brief summary. 
After a few months you may find it necessary to 
devote a separate card file to Purpose. 

Exercise No. 22. You are recommended to read 
in his " Autobiography " Franklin's account of his 
Ultimate Ideal and the method he followed for its 



PURPOSE— IDEALS 143 

realization. The simplicity of the system may 
astonish you. The remarkable achievements of the 
man are the best evidences of its efficacy. Per- 
severing pursuit of Purpose seems to have been the 
secret of his success. 

Note. Whilst this chapter closes the section on 
Mental Efficiency, it is highly desirable that you 
continue the study of the lessons embraced in that 
section. The exercises are designed to be con- 
tinued indefinitely until their object shall have 
been secured. 



REVIEW QUESTIONS 
VII 

61. What is the essential foundation of Purpose? 

62. What do you mean by an Ultimate Ideal? 

63. What is the effect of reflection upon your Ideal? 

64. What is a Contributory Ideal? 

65. What are Lateral Ideals? 

66. State the four points of view from which Ideals 
should be carefully considered before being adopted. 



i 4 4 EVERYDAY EFFICIENCY 

67. What are the two conditions mentioned by Goethe 

as important supplements to the pursuit of a great 
aim? 

68. Why is it well that we rarely, if ever, fully realize 
our Ideals? 

69. Why is it necessary that you should have a per- 
fectly clear conception of your goal or Ideal ? 

70. What compensation may you expect for an earnest 
effort, even though you fail to attain its object? 



SECTION TWO 
Physical Efficiency 



LESSON EIGHT 
VARIOUS PHASES OF HYGIENE 

With this Lesson we enter upon the Section de- 
voted to Physical Efficiency. The lessons compos- 
ing it will treat of what we may term "everyday 
hygiene." The present one will be followed by 
three others dealing, respectively, with " Food," 
" Exercise " and " Rest." The series of lessons is 
designed to aid you in getting rid of ailments that 
are caused by incorrect habits and to afford you 
directions for keeping fit. 

Almost all illness is avoidable. A large propor- 
tion of it is due to ignorance of the laws of hygiene. 
On the other hand, not a little of it is occasioned by 
deliberate violation of these laws. 

Knowledge, whilst a prerequisite to right living, 
is not in itself sufficient to insure good health. 
Knowledge must be reinforced by a strong desire 
or enthusiasm, as well as by will, entailing self- 
control and determined perseverance. 

The man who is living in an unhealthful manner 
will have a more or less hard fight to reform his 
condition. But, once he has established correct 

i47 



i 4 8 EVERYDAY EFFICIENCY 

habits, it will be found more easy to remain well 
than to become ill. 

In perfect health the ordinary functions of life 
are performed without conscious effort. Merely to 
be alive is a source of enjoyment. The sense of 
energy, mental ease and physical well-being lends 
zest to every activity. Functional efficiency in 
work and play are increased as well as the capacity 
for both. 

No price can be too great to pay for such a state, 
involving as it must, happiness and success. It is 
attainable by any one, except a comparative few 
with whom organic disease has developed to an in- 
curable extent. Louis Canaro at thirty-seven years 
of age was a physical wreck. He then began to 
observe the laws of hygiene and lived to pass the 
century mark. Theodore Roosevelt, to take a con- 
temporary example, was a flat-chested nervous un- 
derweight in his youth. By following a plan of 
right living he developed a remarkably fine physique 
and splendid nervous system. More notable still is 
the accomplishment of Stanford Bennett, who at 
fifty-five was a broken-down invalid. He is now — 
twenty years later — in perfect health, more vigorous 
than most men of forty and younger in appearance 
than the average man of fifty. 

There is nothing miraculous, nor even extraor- 
dinary, about the methods and results in these and 



VARIOUS PHASES OF HYGIENE 149 

hundreds of similar cases. Simple rules and prac- 
tices, persistently followed, are the sole explana- 
tions of what appear to be marvelous transforma- 
tions. 

In seeking perfect health you must not expect to 
attain the end without patient effort, but you may 
look for encouraging benefit from the outset. In 
some instances of serious ailment, marked improve- 
ment is quickly secured from diet correction, deep 
breathing, or other easily effected change. 

Be it understood that we are not considering 
organic diseases, though these may be generally 
relieved by improved methods of living, but solely 
the numerous functional derangements which com- 
monly disappear on the correction of some un- 
hygienic habit. 

RATIONAL REFORM IS THE DESIDERATUM 
Let us imagine what may fairly be considered a 
typical case of a city business man. He is troubled 
with frequent headaches, has a tendency to colds, 
suffers from occasional attacks of rheumatism and 
spells of depression. We find that whilst he takes 
but little exercise, his customary diet is fitted to the 
needs of a ditch digger. He uses tobacco and coffee 
to excess and alcohol without regulation. In all 
probability he has half a dozen other habits that are 
detrimental to health. 



150 EVERYDAY EFFICIENCY 

The man we have in mind never feels fit, his 
efficiency is never at par and he is rarely free from 
some form of physical discomfort. Such cases are so 
numerous as to be the rule, rather than the excep- 
tion. In many of them the conditions are aggra- 
vated by the use of sedatives or stimulants, whilst 
nothing more is needed for the restoration of com- 
plete health than the eradication of harmful habits. 

The first step in reformation is self-examination 
with a view to discovering causes of ill-health. 
Next decide on remedial measures. Then form a 
well-considered plan for their adoption and adhere 
to it until you have attained the desired result, 
which should be the removal of the condition and 
the foundation of habits that will prevent recur- 
rence. 

I would caution you against attempting a sweep- 
ing change at once. Go about your task gradually, 
but do thoroughly what you undertake. 

In the imaginary case which we have used for 
illustration, a rational and comparatively easy mode 
of procedure would be for our man to start by 
regulating his food and eliminating alcohol. This 
would doubtless improve his condition greatly in a 
few weeks. He might then increase his exercise 
and at the same time improve his circulation by 
practising deep breathing. Later a reduction of 
tobacco and coffee would be in order. But, should 



VARIOUS PHASES OF HYGIENE 151 

he, in a fit of enthusiastic zeal, cut off all his bad 
habits at once, it is safe to say that within ten days 
the projected reformation would be abandoned in 
discouragement. 

The indefinite ailment usually described as " not 
feeling right " or " that tired feeling " is extremely 
common and seriously subversive of efficiency. In 
fact, the victim frequently declares, with truth : " I 
don't feel fit for anything," and that precisely sums 
up the extent and character of his ailment. This 
indefinable condition of limpid enervation is often 
due to oxygen starvation, so to speak, and this will 
account for its special prevalence in the season of 
spring. The victim has spent ninety per cent, of 
his time during the three or four winter months in 
poorly ventilated rooms. A week or two of open 
windows and outdoor life will set him right, with- 
out medicine, as a rule. Other causes of lassitude 
and nervelessness are hyperacidity and toxemia. 
These conditions may be removed by appropriate 
dieting in which fresh vegetables, fresh fruit and 
plenty of good water occupy prominent places. It 
is hardly necessary to add that open-air exercise is 
essential to any method of remedying " that tired 
feeling," as well as to any plan for its prevention. 
Not infrequently a mere reduction of meat food will 
accomplish the result. Very rarely are " spring 
tonics " or any other medicine necessary or helpful. 



152 EVERYDAY EFFICIENCY 

The great variety of derangements commonly 
grouped under the name " colds " are usually re- 
garded as of little importance. Nevertheless, they 
account for more inefficiency and economic loss 
than all other illnesses combined, and frequently 
lead to serious disease complications. An ordinary 
cold often develops into pneumonia, which ensues 
when the germ invades the lower region of the 
lungs, and pneumonia is the cause of more deaths 
than any other disorder, save heart disease and 
tuberculosis. 

COLDS MAY BE EASILY AVOIDED 
In the great majority of instances a cold is the 
result of infection, but infection will rarely result in 
a cold unless a predisposing condition of the system 
exists. The careless manner in which sufferers 
from cold sneeze, cough and spit in public renders 
us all constantly liable to contact with the germs of 
cold which leave and enter the body through the 
mouth and nose. Despite this universal and prac- 
tically equal exposure to infection, some persons 
rarely take cold, whilst others are seldom free from 
the malady. These latter are apt to deplore their 
" susceptibility to cold " as a constitutional weak- 
ness for which they are not responsible, nor able 
to remedy. As a matter of fact, until the condition 
has become chronic, the " susceptibility " is almost 



VARIOUS PHASES OF HYGIENE 153 

invariably created by violations of the laws of 
hygiene. The healthy, right-living man hardly 
ever " catches cold " and when he does, throws it 
off speedily. Correct diet, deep breathing, proper 
clothing, adequate ventilation, bodily cleanliness, 
mental health, regular exercise and sufficient rest, 
all tend to establish resistance to infection. But it 
must not be overlooked that the healthiest persons 
are not always at par and should be on their guard 
against attacks upon a lowered vitality. It would 
be unwise on the part of a robust man excessively 
fatigued by a day of hard physical or mental labor 
to pass the evening at a theatre or ball. If he 
should do so, however, common sense would dictate 
the use of some antiseptic before and after the ex- 
posure. 

If you will look back over the past twelve months, 
in all probability the retrospect will reveal an 
aggregate of several weeks during which you were 
more or less incapacitated for work, not to mention 
pain or discomfort, in consequence of colds. The 
realization of waste must awaken you to the value 
of avoidance. Freedom from colds is not the least 
of the rewards you will enjoy for living the hygienic 
life. 

Next to prevention, the important thing is to be 
rid of a cold as promptly as possible. The ailment 
is sufficiently serious to warrant your securing 



154 EVERYDAY EFFICIENCY 

medical attention at once, but I am aware that few 
men will call upon a physician to treat a cold before 
the condition has become sinister or painful. As- 
suming that you will insist upon doctoring yourself, 
do so at the very inception of the attack. Don't 
resort to any of the " cold cures " whose name is 
legion, nor any other drugs. Take a hot bath and 
a liberal dose of salts. Go to bed in a room with 
the windows open so as to secure free ventilation. 
In bed you will maintain an even temperature, 
recuperate your vitality and isolate yourself from 
persons you might otherwise infect. In most cases 
this simple treatment, provided it is adopted at the 
outset of a cold, will effect a cure in forty-eight 
hours. If it does not, send for a doctor. 

MANY CAUSES OF HEADACHES 
Ninety per cent, of headaches have their source 
in the digestive or the nervous system. Headaches 
of the former class are generally traceable to their 
specific causes without difficulty. Those due to 
nerve affections, on the contrary, are more obscure 
in origin. Perhaps the most common cause of 
headache is self-poisoning, usually due to faulty 
assimilation or insufficiency of pure air. Among 
a variety of other causes are excessive consumption 
of alcohol, tobacco and coffee. Headaches are also 
frequently derived from eye-strain, which has be- 



VARIOUS PHASES OF HYGIENE 155 

come more prevalent in recent years with the popu- 
larity of the moving picture. 

A headache always indicates distinct trouble else- 
where and may be of great service as a warning 
and indicator. Unless the cause can be readily 
detected and removed, as in the case of dietary in- 
discretions, for example, a physician should be con- 
sulted, and invariably in cases of persistent or 
frequently recurrent headaches. The powders and 
tablets sold as " cures " never do more than " knock 
out " the sensory nerves. They do not reach the 
seat of the disturbance at all. All of them are 
harmful and most of them downright dangerous. 

Most of us have our pet vices and so long as we 
do not allow them to master us or to do us any 
serious injury, perhaps it is as well to indulge them. 
They act as safety valves and in many instances 
pleasure derived from them far outweighs the 
deleterious effect. Many men, whose habits are 
exemplary in other respects, smoke with full con- 
sciousness that their health would be improved by 
abstention from tobacco. I am not going to enter 
into the chemical analysis of tobacco, nor shall I 
attempt to harrow your soul with such startling 
statements as that " one drop of nicotin on the 
unbroken skin of a rabbit will produce death." 
Like many another man whose life is well regu- 
lated in the main, the writer must plead guilty to 



156 EVERYDAY EFFICIENCY 

the indictment of smoking. Not being a rabbit, nor 
addicted to placing nicotin upon his unbroken skin, 
he is less moved by the solemn warnings against 
the use of tobacco than, perhaps, he should be. 
But, if he should become aware that smoking af- 
fected his health in any serious extent, he would 
renounce allegiance to the Diva Nicotiana upon the 
instant. 

We all know that excess in the use of tobacco, — 
and excess in anything, for that matter, — is con- 
demnable. What constitutes excess is a matter of 
idiosyncrasy. For some men any quantity is too 
much, and for all men the boundary has been passed 
when efficiency becomes impaired to any degree. 
The man who leads an otherwise hygienic life may, 
with practical impunity, indulge in smoking to an 
extent which would be decidedly harmful but for 
the counteracting effects of plentiful fresh air and 
exercise, habitual deep-breathing and copious water- 
drinking. 

The case against alcohol is much stronger. It 
seems to have been established conclusively that it 
has no serviceable place in medical practice, except 
as a preservative of drugs. Any one may satisfy 
himself by a few simple experiments that alcohol 
impairs physical and mental efficiency. This nar- 
rows our enquiry to the point : Is its use as a 
beverage advisable? Hardly, it would seem, when 



VARIOUS PHASES OF HYGIENE 157 

we consider that moderate doses disturb normal 
brain action ; that there is an ever-present danger of 
excess; that irreparable injury may be wrought 
upon vital organs without timely warning, and — 
an important consideration for most of us — that a 
strong prejudice against alcohol users exists in the 
business world and is constantly growing. 

THE IMPORTANCE OF POSTURE 
Dr. Gulick, an eminently practical authority, lays 
particular stress on posture. " The way a man 
stands and walks has bearing upon his health, upon 
his efficiency, " he declares. " If he stands always 
with his chest flat and his head forward, his breath- 
ing is shallow and he never makes his diaphragm 
do its full work. By itself, the effects of this are 
enough to help rob him of vigor." Correct posture 
in sitting is equally important, — indeed, more im- 
portant — in the cases of sedentary workers. 

Dr. Gulick goes on to say that the usual direc- 
tions to " throw the shoulders back and hold up 
the head " fail to go to the root of the matter. 
He insists that the essential thing is to produce a 
right shape of the chest cavity which may only be 
done by holding the spine straight. For accom- 
plishing this he gives the simple direction: "Keep 
the neck pressed back against the collar." 

A faulty posture may be the cause or the result 



158 EVERYDAY EFFICIENCY 

of ill-health. When habitual, its interference with 
the circulation sometimes leads to serious functional 
disorders. Correct posture, on the other hand, is a 
distinct aid to good health, j The breathing exer- 
cises which we shall give presently are calculated to 
promote proper posture. 

An habitually bad carriage is not easy to reform, 
but the advantages of remedying it are so many and 
great as to make any amount of trouble worth 
while. Any exercises which strengthen the ab- 
dominal muscles are helpful. A simple one is, 
whilst lying upon the back, to raise the feet as high 
as possible. Another is to raise the arms straight 
above the head, then bend over slowly, with legs 
stiff, and endeavor to touch the toes with the finger 
tips. This will be gradually accomplished after 
two or three weeks of effort, in the worst cases. 
Other methods of strengthening the stomach mus- 
cles may be found in any book on calisthenics. 

Acquiring correct positions in standing, sitting 
and walking depends mainly upon persistence and 
constant attention to the matter. It will be neces- 
sary to keep the matter incessantly in mind and 
straighten your backbone every time you detect 
yourself slumping. At first you may have to pull 
yourself together a hundred times in a day, but by 
degrees the occasions for correction will grow 
fewer and the proper posture easier to maintain. 



VARIOUS PHASES OF HYGIENE 159 

Once it becomes comfortable and natural, you will 
have no difficulty about the matter during the rest 
of your life. 

The right posture in standing is easy to assume. 
The neck should be back against the collar, the 
abdomen slightly drawn in and the chest expanded. 
In sitting at a table or desk, draw the chair close 
up to it, keep the shoulders back and the chest high, 
bringing the body forward, by bending at the hips. 

Exercise No. 23. Stand erect with arms hang- 
ing loosely by the sides, body inclined slightly for- 
ward so that the weight is mainly on the fore part 
of the feet, instead of the heels. Bring the out- 
stretched arms up in front of the body until the 
palms of the hands meet on a level with the mouth. 
Throw the arms back with full force in line with the 
shoulders at the same time rising on the toes. 

This exercise should be performed with no more 
clothing than an undershirt upon the trunk and 
repeated frequently with brief rests. In time the 
hands should move through complete arcs and their 
backs strike immediately behind the spot where 
they meet in front. 

IMPORTANCE OF BREATHING CORRECTLY 
Correct breathing is of the utmost consequence. 
It affects the health in a score of different ways, 



160 EVERYDAY EFFICIENCY 

and is powerfully conducive to mental poise. The 
first step is to form a habit of breathing through 
the nose at all times. The main object of train- 
ing in breathing is to secure an unconscious practice 
of slow, full, regular breathing. In addition to this, 
deep breathing should be practiced at least once a 
day. 

" In ordinary breathing only about ten per cent, 
of the lung contents is changed at each breath. In 
deep breathing a much larger percentage is changed, 
the whole lung is forced into action, the liver and 
abdominal circulation is promoted, and any stag- 
nant blood in these regions is set in circulation and 
oxygenated. The blood pressure is also favorably 
influenced, especially where increased pressure is 
due to nervous or emotional causes." The resultant 
feeling is one of warmth and vigor. 

A brief account of the part played by different 
organs in the process of respiration will aid in a 
better understanding of the proper way to breathe. 

The lungs completely fill the thoracic cavity, ex- 
panding and contracting with it. The walls of the 
thorax are supported by a framework of bones, con- 
sisting of the spinal column and the ribs, which, 
with the exception of the uppermost, are more or 
less flexible. The floor of the thorax is a large 
plate-like muscle that fits close to the sides of the 
cavity and moves up and down in it after the man- 



VARIOUS PHASES OF HYGIENE 161 

tier of a piston in a cylinder. This muscle, which 
is called the diaphragm, rises with expiration and 
descends with inspiration, the lungs and ribs re- 
sponding to the motion. The stomach and liver 
lying immediately under the diaphragm, its move- 
ment exerts a kneading action upon them, pro- 
moting digestion and circulation. 

Exercise No. 24. Lying upon the back, thor- 
oughly relaxed, but with the mind concentrated on 
the movements involved, — draw a long full breath 
through the nostrils, slowly and without straining. 
Hold the breath four or five seconds, then exhale 
it slowly and regularly. 

Whilst inhaling, the abdomen and the chest will 
be gradually expanded. In exhaling the chest will 
fall back and the abdomen should be contracted 
with some effort. It will help you to associate this 
movement with the action of bellows and to vis- 
ualize the diaphragm working up and down. 

To begin with, perform this exercise before rising 
in the morning and after retiring at night. It must 
not be continued to the point of fatigue and should 
be stopped when giddiness ensues, as it may on 
the first few occasions. After some weeks of this 
practice you will realize that your automatic breath- 
ing has been improved. The exercise should then 
be performed whilst standing, at stated times, as 



162 EVERYDAY EFFICIENCY 

well as in odd moments through the day. You will 
soon find deep-breathing an unfailing resource to 
soothe the nerves, control emotion, mitigate fatigue, 
increase the temperature and energize the physical 
and mental systems. It is unnecessary to expatiate 
upon the effects of this highly important function. 
They will be revealed to your great satisfaction if 
you adhere to the regular practice of the exercise. 

A word of warning may be in season. All the 
benefit to be derived from deep-breathing may be 
secured through the directions given, with some 
slight modifications, perhaps. You will gain an 
additional chest expansion of a few inches. Do 
not be led by advertised systems to aim at a great 
increase of lung development. This, like all ab- 
normalities, is injurious and commonly entails a 
distinct disease, called emphysema. 

It goes without saying that deep breathing is 
beneficial only when the air inhaled is good. In 
fact, training in breathing should embrace restric- 
tion of the function when conditions are unfavor- 
able, as in a crowded hall or in the presence of a 
person suffering from an infectious complaint. 

Abundance of fresh air and copious draughts of 
pure water are essential to good health. At least 
two quarts of water a day should be drunk and a 
glassful the first thing in the morning and the last 



VARIOUS PHASES OF HYGIENE 163 

thing at night, without fail. Iced water works harm 
in several directions and is not so effective in 
quenching thirst as water ordinarily cool. Some 
respectable authorities recommend the drinking of 
hot water. Never having tried it, the writer is not 
competent to pass an opinion on the subject, but 
he may say that he has found no difficulty in main- 
taining perfect health without its use. 

EYES, EARS, TEETH, FEET AND HANDS 
Dr. Walter L. Pyle, the eye specialist, says : 
" The multiformity of the effects of eye-strain can 
only be properly realized when we understand how 
vital the function of vision is to every act, emotion 
or thought. The visual centres are in the closest 
connection with the other brain centres, and the 
slightest disturbance of the visual mechanism, par- 
ticularly if the eyes are used excessively at close 
range, produces sympathetic irritation not only in 
the eyes, but in the entire motor, sensory and 
psychic systems." The ultimate effect of eye-strain 
is sometimes so far removed from the seat of origin 
as to make diagnosis extremely difficult, even by a 
specialist. A man may be treated for a dozen dif- 
ferent disorders, only to discover, at length, that 
the trouble is occasioned by some derangement of 
the visual mechanism. 

The proper position of a book or paper which is 



164 EVERYDAY EFFICIENCY 

being read is so that the line of vision is at right 
angles to the face. This position or the nearest 
practical approach to it should be secured whenever 
possible. The reading matter should be as far 
from the eyes as it may be without causing strain. 
In prolonged reading appreciable relief to the eyes 
may be gained from looking off at a distance for a 
few seconds at short intervals. This practice is 
strongly recommended when reading on a street 
car or railroad train. 

Don't allow the rays of artificial light to fall 
directly on the eyes when reading. They should 
fall on the book from behind you. When reading 
in sunlight throw a shadow over the page. 

For reading or other close work at night a strong 
light of the right kind is advisable. All things con- 
sidered, the shaded tungsten lamp is the best avail- 
able artificial light. 

Many smokers keep a cigar or cigarette in the 
mouth and allow the smoke to curl slowly over the 
face. This is extremely injurious to the eyes. The 
better practice is to keep the cigar in the fingers 
only to place it in the mouth for the purpose of 
drawing and to blow the smoke entirely clear of the 
face. Oculists declare that a large proportion of 
eye impairments in men can be traced to tobacco 
smoke. 

The ear is an extremely delicate organ and the 



VARIOUS PHASES OF HYGIENE 165 

best advice which can be given concerning it is: 
Leave it alone. Aside from washing the outside of 
it in the ordinary manner it is dangerous to do any- 
thing to the ear. Ear sponges and similar con- 
trivances should be strictly tabu. If any abnormal 
condition of the organ occurs, even though it be no 
more than excessive secretion of wax, the safest 
plan is to secure the service of a physician or aurist 

MANY TROUBLES ORIGINATE IN THE TEETH 
Teeth. The importance of keeping the teeth in 
good condition cannot be overrated. Many serious, 
and even fatal diseases have their origin in infection 
arising in decayed teeth. As in other matters of 
hygiene, prevention is preferable to cure. By care- 
fully tending sound teeth and submitting them to 
periodical examination by a dentist impairment may 
be deferred and trouble avoided. The teeth should 
be brushed at least twice a day, on rising and re- 
tiring, with a reliable dentifrice. In removing par- 
ticles of food from between the teeth floss silk is the 
most advisable thing to use. It can hardly be 
necessary to say that a pin, knife-point, or other 
hard or sharp instrument should never be put in 
the mouth. If a toothpick is used at all, let it be a 
flexible quill. 

Feet and hands receive much less attention than 
they deserve when their constant and important 



166 EVERYDAY EFFICIENCY 

services are considered. Tight gloves and shoes 
are injurious, especially when their material is im- 
pervious to air, as are glazed kid and patent leather. 
In the recent examinations of recruits an amazing 
number disclosed serious defects of the feet, in 
most instances caused by badly constructed shoes. 
Minor impairments, such as bunions, corns and in- 
growing toe-nails are extremely common. They 
can not be considered unimportant for an aching 
foot may incapacitate a man for efficient physical 
or mental effort. 

A corn should be treated by a specialist. In- 
numerable cases of blood poisoning, sometimes 
terminating in death, have followed amateur at- 
tempts to remove the growth. It is doubtful 
whether any of the so-called " corn cures " are both 
safe and efficacious. Ingrowing toe-nails may be 
avoided by timely cutting straight across and not 
close at the sides. 

Clothing. From birth through life we wear too 
much clothing. As this matter is largely regulated 
by fashion or custom there is little scope for indi- 
vidual reform. We can, however, have our clothes 
light in weight, porous and loose. Most of us are 
too warmly clad, especially in winter, and our gar- 
ments fit so closely as to admit but little air to the 
skin, the proper functions of which are impeded by 
this lack. 



VARIOUS PHASES OF HYGIENE 167 

Daily bathing is, if not absolutely essential to 
good health, certainly promotive of it. Cleanliness 
does not demand it, but it is recommended for the 
tonic effect. The colder the water, the better, pro- 
vided you react and derive enjoyable exhilaration 
from it. If not, you must regulate the temperature 
to your condition and may by degrees reach the 
point of gaining pleasure and stimulation from 
water as cold as it comes in the depth of winter. 
But the bath should not be looked upon as a duty. 
Unless you find it a treat it is not doing you good. 
The debilitated, run-down or sickly man will do well 
to substitute the sponge bath at a comfortable tem- 
perature for the cold plunge. It is best to use little 
or no soap and to avoid scrubbing brushes and 
rough towels, all of which are apt to injure the skin. 

Most persons will find the hot bath more bene- 
ficial than the tepid. When the former is used as 
a morning stimulant, it should be taken quickly. 
One minute is long enough to remain in the water, 
after which the sooner dressing is completed, the 
better. The hot bath gradually cooled is an in- 
dulgence of many persons, but I do not know of a 
single authority who recommends it. 

THE MAN OF MIDDLE AGE 
When a man enters upon the indeterminate stage 
of life commonly referred to as " middle-age " his 



168 EVERYDAY EFFICIENCY 

liability to infectious diseases becomes greatly re- 
duced, with the hardening of the arteries, and his 
illnesses are mostly attributable to the wearing out 
of the vital machinery. In this country the increase 
in degenerative diseases has been so great during 
the past half-century as to produce an appreciable 
curtailment of life. A large proportion of the im- 
pairments which result in an excessive mortality 
between the ages of 45 and 70 are preventable. 
That is to say, in the majority of instances they are 
attributable to violations of the laws of hygiene in 
earlier life. In many other cases the trouble is 
aggravated and the climax accelerated by wrong 
living in later life. A chronic complaint seldom 
develops as a consequence of perversity or care- 
lessness. It is more often the outcome of igno- 
rance. Examinations made by life insurance com- 
panies and other institutions of thousands of young 
men have disclosed physical impairments, presag- 
ing organic complaints in a large percentage of 
them. Applicants for life insurance at older ages 
commonly learn for the first time that they are 
afflicted with heart disease, diabetes, or some 
equally serious disease. The inference is that every 
one should submit to a thorough overhauling once 
a year, and more often after having reached middle 
age. 

There is no essential reason for a man's be- 



VARIOUS PHASES OF HYGIENE 169 

ginning to break down at 45 or 50 years. If he has 
attained to such age with organs in healthy con- 
dition, he should be able to maintain physical and 
mental vigor for thirty or more years longer. 
But it will be necessary for him to adhere more 
rigidly to the rules of hygiene than in his younger 
days and to modify them in conformity with his 
changed condition. His chief need will be to keep 
up his exercise and to guard against indiscretions of 
diet, both of which subjects will be discussed in 
later pages. 

Comparatively few persons seem to realize the 
extent to which the mental attitude influences this 
matter. There is a vast amount of significance in 
the adage : " A woman is as old as she looks ; a man, 
as old as he feels." By keeping the mind buoyant 
and cheerful whilst maintaining touch with youthful 
interests, a man may prolong his life considerably. 
Feeling young is an art and may be made a habit. 
On the other hand, if a man forms the habit of 
looking into the grave, it will not be long before he 
falls into it. 

Health, good or bad, is always more or less a 
psychic condition and the mind is capable of 
exercising a tremendous influence in the matter. 
" Psychologists are learning nowadays that it is 
impossible to treat the mind and body as if they 
were really distinct. They have discovered that 



170 EVERYDAY EFFICIENCY 

the two are so closely bound up together that noth- 
ing can affect one without affecting the other in a 
greater or less degree." To use a homely phrase, 
" We think all over." Every cell is the seat of 
some form of mental activity. To quote Gulick: 
" A man thinks of running. The nerve centres send 
more blood to his legs; all the muscles used in 
running get an increased supply of it. A man is 
hungry; he thinks of a good juicy beefsteak. Im- 
mediately more blood is sent to the muscles of 
mastication and to the salivary glands. Saliva is 
poured into the mouth, and even the walls of the 
stomach begin to secrete gastric juice and to pre- 
pare themselves for the digestion of the hypothetical 
dinner." It was ascertained by actual observation 
that a squad of students who merely watched the 
Yale boat crew practise through a period of several 
weeks, underwent a marked development of the 
muscles employed in rowing. 

Now this connection of mind and body is capable 
of extremely practical application, which, in con- 
junction with systematic employment of Sugges- 
tion, you may turn to account in various desirable 
directions. In the preceding Section of this Course 
it has been impressed upon you that morbid 
emotions and depressing thoughts must inevitably 
cause depreciation in health, whilst contrary mental 
activities will as surely tend to improve the physical 



VARIOUS PHASES OF HYGIENE 171 

condition. In all your efforts for bodily develop- 
ment, whether through food regulation, exercise, 
rest, or other agency, the mind should be em- 
ployed in a deliberate and calculated manner as an 
auxiliary. 

In the matter of health culture, it is extremely 
difficult to offer practical advice. The directions 
which produce excellent results in one case may 
have an unsatisfactory effect in another. There 
are certain conditions under which one can live and 
work in the highest state of efficiency. In the 
main a man must discover the hygienic regimen 
best suited to the peculiarities of his constitution 
and to the exigencies of his environment. This he 
can only do by experiment. The investigation can 
not fail to be beneficial. Most of us know less about 
our physical and mental make-up than we do about 
the construction and working of our automobiles. 

There are, however, certain fundamental prin- 
ciples and practices which are essential to good 
health. I have endeavored in the papers of this 
Section to keep within the range of such universally 
applicable principles and practices. The treatment 
of most subjects in the present lesson has been 
necessarily restricted to the briefest suggestion, but 
a list of reliable books is appended from which 
detailed information may be obtained. 



172 EVERYDAY EFFICIENCY 

BOOKS 
The Efficient Life, Luther K. Gulick. Double- 
day, Page & Co. 

How to Live, Fisher and Fisk. Funk & Wag- 
nails Co. 

Health and Right Breathing (Cassell's Health 
Handbooks). Funk & Wagnalls Co. 



REVIEW QUESTIONS 
VIII 

71. State the logical steps in the reformation of one's 
manner of living. 

72. What are the best agencies for creating resistance to 
colds ? 

73. What is the all-essential element in a correct pos- 
ture? 

74. What is the best remedy for the ailment commonly 
described as " that tired feeling " ? 

75. Name three frequent sources of headache. 

76. What good effects may you expect from the prac- 
tice of deep-breathing? 



VARIOUS PHASES OF HYGIENE 173 

yy. Why is eye-strain a particularly serious derange- 
ment? 

78. What is the proper position of a book or paper in 
reading ? 

79. What part should the mind play in your effort for 
bodily development? 

80. Why is self-examination of the utmost importance 
in the matter of hygienic living? 



LESSON NINE 
FOOD 

The object of this lesson is to direct the student's 
attention to the highly important matter of food 
regulation. Extensive treatment of the subject is 
not feasible in the space at command. No more 
than cursory mention may be made of the physi- 
ology of nutrition and the chemistry of food. But 
the student will derive practical benefit from in- 
vestigation of these subjects. 

It is not an exaggeration to say that the general 
efficiency of an individual is dependent upon proper 
food and perfect digestion to a greater extent than 
upon any other single factor. Bodily energy, 
mental vigor, cheerfulness and ease spring from 
adequate nutrition. 

Eugene Christian, the well-known food scientist, 
declares : " Man, in the final analysis, is merely the 
net product of what he eats and drinks. Food 
bears very much the same relation to the human 
body as soil bears to vegetation. After life is once 
produced, food is the all-controlling and governing 
factor in both its physical and mental development; 

i74 



FOOD 175 

upon the knowledge, therefore, of selecting, com- 
bining and proportioning our food hinges not only 
the prevention and cure of disease, but also the 
ability to reach the highest state of mental and 
physical vitality — the prolongation of youth and 
life." 

We must take a positive attitude toward health — 
look upon it as the normal and only rational con- 
dition. We shall not interest ourselves in cures but 
in prevention — not in regaining health but in main- 
taining it. And this may be contrived more surely 
by the scientific regulation of diet than by any other 
means. Ninety per cent, of diseases are either 
caused or aggravated by improper food. Perfect 
nutrition means perfect health, strong resistance to 
infection and great recuperative power. 

Corrective eating is of the utmost importance in 
the treatment of all disease, but I shall not attempt 
to offer you directions for it. The advice of a 
physician should be sought in all instances of pro- 
nounced disorder. A host of minor ailments are 
due to faults in diet, and a knowledge of food values 
will, in most cases of this sort, enable you to detect 
causes and secure relief by removing them. For 
example, many headaches, skin eruptions, feelings of 
nervousness and lassitude, rheumatic pains, bowel 
irregularities, catarrhal conditions and mental de- 
rangements may be remedied by food readjustment. 



iy6 EVERYDAY EFFICIENCY 

In this respect a knowledge of the quantities, kinds 
and proportions of food that are most conducive to 
health in yourself will be of inestimable value to 
you. And such a knowledge may be obtained by a 
moderate degree of experimental observation which 
must include watch upon your weight and general 
efficiency under varying diets. This point once 
determined, you may count upon the maintenance 
of health so long as you adhere to the food regula- 
tions conducive to it in your case. 

WONDERFUL EFFECT OF DIET CORRECTION 
We eat too much. We eat too fast. We eat 
without discrimination. During recent years a 
great deal of labor has been devoted to the investi- 
gation of food problems but as yet no appreciable 
proportion of people has become interested in the 
practical and personal application of these ques- 
tions. In the next generation scientific eating will 
probably be as general as scientific housing is in 
this generation. Meanwhile, those of us who are 
willing to take a little pains in the matter may enjoy 
the wonderful benefits to be derived from correct 
diet. 

Edison found that he felt better, had more 
energy and endurance and actually gained in weight 
after he had cut down his food to 25 per cent, of 
the former quantity. Here was a man of extraor- 



FOOD 177 

dinary scientific attainments, discovering at the age 
of 65 that his habitual practice in the most im- 
portant phase of personal hygiene had been seri- 
ously faulty. 

Many persons have recovered from chronic illness 
solely by reducing or changing their food. They 
had been overtaxing digestion and poisoning them- 
selves. Most ailments may be relieved, if not 
entirely cured, by diet correction. Nine times in 
ten when a man resorts to the medicine cabinet he 
could secure better results by reforming his bill of 
fare. A college professor can not eat the same 
kind and quantity of food as a farm laborer without 
undermining his health and impairing his organic 
functions. Symptoms of disease may be long de- 
ferred, but ultimately the strain upon his digestive 
organs and the slow poisoning of his system must 
tell. In numberless cases of death, diagnosed as 
" overwork and kidney trouble," the basic cause is 
overeating. 

" Eat when you want to and what you like " is a 
thoroughly discredited doctrine. Desire for food is 
not necessarily an indication of need. Gluttony is 
not an uncommon vice and abnormal appetite is 
symptomatic of certain diseases. For the man who 
has reached middle age it is especially dangerous 
to allow his inclination to be the sole arbiter in the 
matter of eating. 



178 EVERYDAY EFFICIENCY 

We are often told that the " promptings of 
nature " may safely be followed and that a strong 
desire for certain food is a sure indication that the 
body has special need of it. There is a little truth 
and much fallacy in this theory. Even an in- 
stinctive craving is not a reliable guide. It may 
have its origin in conditions which ceased to exist 
long ago. The fondness of children for sugar and 
of adults for salt are cases in point. No doubt 
these predispositions are survivals of a not distant 
period when restriction in variety of food made 
sugar and salt in their simple forms more necessary 
than they are now. At the same time they were 
comparatively difficult to obtain and the desire for 
them was enhanced correspondingly. The appetite 
for meat, which is generally in excess of require- 
ment, may possibly be traced to the combined in- 
fluences of habit and heredity. Our ancestors 
needed large quantities of flesh to support them in 
the vigorous, outdoor lives they led. The changes 
in environment, occupation, and capacity of the 
digestive system have been much more extensive 
than the changes in food. 

Over-indulgence is calculated to create false 
appetite. The man who takes three meals a day 
may easily accustom himself to four and in a short 
while will be regularly hungry for the additional 
allowance. Probably no organ will retain a habit 



FOOD 179 

more persistently than the stomach. Years ago 
the writer was engaged in editorial work on a morn- 
ing paper. His day began at ten o'clock and ended 
sixteen hours later. He regularly ate his third 
meal — a heavy one— at about midnight. With 
change of occupation the writer's daily routine 
changed and his meals were taken at the conven- 
tional hours. But, in spite of a substantial dinner 
at seven o'clock, he would wake ravenously hungry 
five hours later, and overcame this false appetite 
only by tapering off through the course of two or 
more months. 

The man who is entering upon a reform of diet 
should not make too drastic a change at once. He 
must be prepared for some discomfort and even 
occasional symptoms of an alarming character until 
the adjustment is completed. It is not to be ex- 
pected that every organ and every cell in the body 
should be subjected to a change of habit without 
occasioning considerable temporary disquietude. 

THE FUNCTIONS OF FOOD 
Briefly stated, we eat to live — and should eat so 
as to live in the highest possible state of health. 
Food is any substance which is capable of being 
assimilated by the human organism and utilized in 
its normal functions. Whatever fails to conform to 
this definition is not true food. From food the 



180 EVERYDAY EFFICIENCY 

body derives heat or energy, and structural renova- 
tion. Foods are, for the most part, composed of 
the elements which go to make up the body. The 
following are the most valuable foods, and perfect 
health may be maintained in the normal system by 
a diet composed exclusively of them : Milk, eggs, 
grains, vegetables, fruits, sugar and fats. 

Many persons imagine that they cannot have too 
much of the benefits derivable from food, and that 
the more they eat the better for themselves. As a 
matter of fact, excess is more injurious than in- 
sufficiency. The best effects are produced from 
food of certain quantity and kinds, in certain pro- 
portions. What these factors should be in an indi- 
vidual case will be determined by considerations 
of age, occupation, environment, climate and other 
conditions. Indeed, the food regimen which is per- 
fectly suitable to a person in the ordinary routine 
of his life may require modification to conform to 
temporary changes. 

This does not imply that you must regulate your 
food with the aid of a pair of scales and a micro- 
scope. It is neither necessary nor advisable that 
you should pay very close attention to the matter. 
Allowing it to become a subject of extreme concern 
is apt to do more harm than good. Ordinary care 
and thought will shortly enable you to meet the de- 
mands of good health in this respect with no more 



FOOD 181 

trouble than you experience in the avoidance of 
colds and other common ailments. 

You must learn the food values of the articles 
that enter into your usual diet. With that knowl- 
edge you can make a fairly accurate estimate of the 
kind and quantities of food required for the main- 
tenance of good health in yourself. Approximate 
precision may be arrived at by experimenting. 
You know when you are feeling perfectly fit and 
you should know what is your weight when in the 
best condition. With these guides it will not be 
difficult to arrive at a favorable diet for yourself 
under normal circumstances and to modify it as 
occasion may arise. For example, you would make 
allowance for the extra expenditure of energy in- 
volved in a spell of unusually hard work. On the 
other hand, if a sprained ankle should curtail your 
activities for a while you would reduce your food 
supply to conform with the decreased needs of your 
body. 

HOW TO PLAN DIET REFORM 
Diet reform should usually commence with de- 
crease in quantity of food and reduction of the meat 
ration. Next, the customary diet should be ex- 
amined with regard to its composition and with a 
view to effecting a balance in the main divisions of 
its elements — heat producers and tissue builders. 



182 EVERYDAY EFFICIENCY 

In making this adjustment it is important to pro- 
vide for a due proportion of bulk which may most 
readily be obtained from green vegetables. By 
degrees more detailed improvements may be made. 

You will not find this task complex, difficult nor 
disagreeable. With experience of the enjoyable 
effects of scientific food regulation you will ex- 
perience pleasure in the practice of correct eating. 
The preceding lesson advised periodical examina- 
tions by a qualified physician. These will afford 
occasions for securing expert assistance in your diet 
reformation. Membership in the Life Extension 
Institute of New York is strongly recommended. 
This will entitle you, at a small cost, to extensive 
services in the promotion of hygiene, to examina- 
tions and personal advice. 

It will be necessary for you to be in possession 
of a table of food values, such as can easily be ob- 
tained from a number of sources. An excellent 
table and other valuable information on the subject 
is contained in the volume entitled " How to Live," 
compiled by the Life Extension Institute and pub- 
lished by the Funk and Wagnalls Company, New 
York. 

In " Little Lessons in Scientific Eating " Eugene 
Christian gives extensive tables of what he calls 
" digestive harmonies and inharmonies." The in- 
formation is extremely valuable, and possession of 



FOOD 183 

it may enable you to avoid many an attack of indi- 
gestion, if not more serious disturbance. Through 
ignorance, most of us are constantly combining in 
one meal articles of food which conflict. We often 
say of a certain dish, " It did not agree with me," 
when it would be nearer the truth to state that it 
failed to agree with some other food that accom- 
panied it into the stomach. In a course dinner this 
is almost invariably the case to some extent and 
furnishes good ground for the strong recommenda- 
tion of latter-day dieticians that but five or six 
different kinds of food should be eaten at one meal. 
This suggestion contemplates a proper recognition 
of all articles which constitute food. The person 
who has given no thought to the matter is apt to 
leave out of consideration a number of things that 
have high food value. Ask the average man to 
name the constituent parts of a certain meal and it 
is extremely likely that he will make no mention of 
butter, cream or sugar, which are highly concen- 
trated forms of food. 

This oversight is akin to the practice of eating be- 
tween meals, without making any allowance for the 
extra food supply, which is responsible for not a 
little sickness. A man will hastily devour a quan- 
tity of fruit, nuts or candy, without taking any 
account of it, and, after eating his regular meal, 
wonder why he doesn't feel right. 



1 84 EVERYDAY EFFICIENCY 

Nothing is more common than the mistake of 
measuring food value by quantity, which in reality 
is not a guide. The character of the food de- 
termines the question of its sufficiency to a greater 
extent. The ultimate measure of benefit depends 
upon the amount of food that is assimilated. A 
man may overload his stomach with one material 
and derive less nutrition from it than he might from 
four ounces of another. One of the chief functions 
of food is to supply body heat. In this respect, a 
handful of olives, a head of lettuce and a large 
lump of sugar have equal efficiency; each generates 
about 100 calories, or heat units. 

INDIGESTION A SERIOUS MATTER 
Men whose work is not of a muscular character 
will generally find it best to have but one heavy 
meal during the day, and that in the evening. If, 
however, the close of a man's daily labor leaves him 
very fatigued, he cannot eat heartily without court- 
ing indigestion. Worry, depression, hurry, agita- 
tion and other morbid affections also have a 
tendency to retard the activities of the alimentary 
canal. The heavy meal of the day, especially, 
should never be partaken of whilst one is in such 
state. Rather, eat lightly at the usual time and 
again two or three hours later. 

The robust young man, enjoying perfect health, 



FOOD 185 

may be disposed to ignore such injunctions. But it 
is a great mistake in any one to imagine that, be- 
cause he is apparently able to abuse his stomach 
with impunity or only slight effect, no serious in- 
jury is done. Chronic dyspepsia and a host of other 
ills result from dietary indiscretions persisted in 
through years. Innumerable middle-aged men owe 
miserable existences to carelessness in this respect 
during youth. On the other hand, the man who 
enters into old age with good health, and strong 
vitality invariably has to thank rational diet and 
efficient digestion for his condition. 

Perhaps it may be well to interject a word of ad- 
vice to the victim of indigestion. Don't resort to 
" digestive tablets " and similar agencies. It is im- 
possible that anything of the sort should cure your 
trouble and persistent use of drugs must aggravate 
it. Simple measures patiently pursued, will set you 
right with almost certainty. Start by ascertaining 
whether there is any predisposing cause outside of 
diet. If you are worrying, neglecting exercise, 
consuming too much alcohol, hurrying through 
your meals, or otherwise encouraging indigestion, 
it stands to reason that you must remove the detri- 
mental condition before you can hope for relief. 
Next, put yourself on a plain, properly balanced diet 
and reduce your daily allowance of food to the 
smallest amount with which you can get along, even 



186 EVERYDAY EFFICIENCY 

though you half starve yourself in doing so. After 
a few days on the minimum ration you will prob- 
ably find that you digest it comfortably and may 
increase the quantity by degrees. During this 
effort maintain a cheerful, optimistic attitude. 
Frequently, and especially at meal times, assure 
yourself with confidence that you are going to be- 
come perfectly well. It is astonishing how power- 
ful a part the mind may be made to play. Its in- 
fluence upon the digestive processes is especially 
strong and recognized by every physiologist. 

The writer has known several cases of obstinate 
and even chronic indigestion to be cured by the 
means described, after a long course of drugs had 
rendered the condition worse. One of these cases 
is worthy of further mention. A man of fifty, 
enjoying ordinary health, became addicted to 
various food fads with the result of seriously dis- 
organizing a normal digestion. He was misled by 
the fallacious theory advanced in certain advertise- 
ments that a person will be benefited by relieving 
the stomach of its natural tasks. 

In healthy organs digestion is a healthful func- 
tion. By relieving the digestive system of its 
natural duty we diminish its capacity and impair 
its efficiency. The concentrated food and the pre- 
digested food advocates lose sight of the fact that 
the organs of digestion require material that will 



FOOD 187 

stimulate the activities for which they are designed 
and that this material should embrace a certain 
amount of rough, bulky food, including some cellu- 
lose or vegetable fibre. Food that must be well 
chewed has the effect of exercising teeth and jaws, 
exciting the flow of saliva, and the secretion of 
gastric juice, whilst cellulose has a favorable action 
upon the intestinal functions. The tabloid ration 
was pronounced a complete failure by the British 
Medical Department in the present war, after thor- 
ough experiment. 

FOOD VALUES 

There are four essential needs of the body which 
are rilled by food. These are: (1) heat; (2) tissue 
formation; (3) mineral salts; (4) vitamines. 

The first of these needs is mainly supplied by 
fats, starch and sugar. Fats are chiefly derived from 
meat, milk and its products, nuts and chocolate. 
Sugar and starch are found, in combination with 
cellulose and water, in what are called the carbo- 
hydrates. These embrace the common cereals, 
potatoes, pumpkins, bananas, dates, figs, peanuts, 
sugar and its products, as well as a number of other 
articles of food. 

The tissue-building function is performed by the 
proteins which are mainly derived from lean meat, 
milk, eggs and cheese, although vegetables and 



188 EVERYDAY EFFICIENCY 

nuts contain them in varying quantities. Dried 
peas, beans and lentils, as well as peanuts and wheat 
bran, have high protein contents. 

The distinguishing characteristic of protein foods 
is that they alone contain nitrogen. This in com- 
bination with hydrogen, oxygen and carbon which 
the body derives from other sources, especially fats. 

The third essential is a proper proportion of cer- 
tain mineral salts, especially phosphorus, sulphur, 
lime and iron, which may be obtained from a num- 
ber of vegetables, particularly lettuce, celery, string 
beans, green peas, spinach, and the tops of turnips, 
beets and radishes. 

Foods are classified according to the predominat- 
ing nutritive element. For example, wheat con- 
tains approximately 70 per cent, of carbon and 
water, 12 per cent, protein and 2 per cent. fat. It 
is consequently placed in the category of carbo- 
hydrates. American cheese is classed with the 
fats, 73 per cent, of its food content consisting of 
that element, 25 per cent, of protein, , and only 2 
per cent, of carbohydrate. Boiled lean beef is pre- 
eminently a protein food, by reason of the presence 
of 90 per cent, of that element, the remaining 10 
per cent, consisting of fat. 

Many of the foods in a certain classification con- 
tain a large amount of the principal element of an- 
other classification. For instance, most nuts are 



FOOD 189 

classed with the fats, but some of them contain a 
considerable quantity of protein. 

The foregoing statement of a few food values 
should help us to appreciate the necessity for regu- 
lation of quantity and kind in our diet. The de- 
sideratum is a " balanced ration," that is to say, one 
composed of the right proportions of carbohydrates, 
proteins, and fats, with due provision of salts, vita- 
mines and cellulose, in the right amount to meet the 
particular needs of the individual. The average 
office worker, taking a moderate degree of exercise 
regularly, will consume about 2,500 calories in 
twenty-four hours. The salesman who is on the 
street six or seven hours a day will probably con- 
sume about 3,000 calories. Age and physique will 
influence the question to a considerable extent. It 
may take some time for you to arrive at a deter- 
mination of your personal requirement, but every 
step in the right direction must prove beneficial and 
the superficial information given in this paper 
should enable you to remedy at once any glaring 
faults that may exist in your customary diet. 

It is worse than useless to take food in excess of 
your needs. The body will not assimilate more 
that the proper quantity and the system will be put 
to the pains of disposing of the excess by elimina- 
tion or destructive metabolism at considerable dis- 
comfort, if not serious injury, to yourself. For 



190 EVERYDAY EFFICIENCY 

example: Eat too much protein and the result is 
toxemia; eat too much fat and adipose tissue is 
formed. There is a distinct law of nutrition for 
every man and he cannot deviate from it without 
detriment to his health. 

Lastly we have the requirement of the body for 
vitamines. Exactly what these are does not seem 
to have been determined, but it is thoroughly estab- 
lished that they are necessary to the maintenance 
of health. Vitamines are to be found in raw milk, 
the yolk of eggs and fresh fruits and vegetables. 
They are diminished by cooking and entirely des- 
troyed at a very high temperature. 

An arbitrary standard has been adopted for the 
measurement of the efficiency of carbohydrates, 
proteins and fats. It is the calory, or heat unit. 
Most tables of food values state quantities in grams 
or ounces with the equivalent calories. 

THE PROCESS OF NUTRITION 
The mere eating of food is not necessarily bene- 
ficial; in fact it may be detrimental. In order to 
effect nutrition, the food eaten must go through 
the processes of mastication, digestion, assimilation 
and metabolism. These are not distinct. Indeed, 
they may be described as phases of one process. 

Mastication is the process of breaking up or 
masticating food preparatory to swallowing it. 



FOOD 191 

Digestion is conversion of food into a form 
capable of absorption into the blood. 

Assimilation is the function of carrying the dis- 
solved food into the circulatory system and dis- 
tributing it among the various minute cells of the 
body. 

Metabolism embraces all the transformations 
through which the food passes from the time it 
enters the mouth. 

It is not too much to say that adequate mastica- 
tion is the most important phase of metabolism. 
Given a rational diet, properly masticated, and the 
digestive system will take care of the rest with the 
best results in respect to nutrition. 

Not uncommonly, persons suppose that the sole 
purpose of mastication is to break up the food and, 
under this delusion, chew only hard and compact 
substances, bolting those of a soft and less con- 
sistent nature. The truth of the matter is that the 
action of the jaws, combined with taste, excites the 
salivary glands and prompts the flow of the alkaline 
fluid which, mixing with the food, performs an im- 
portant part in the process of digestion. In the 
stomach, the gastric juice, and in the pancreas, still 
another fluid, do their share in producing the dis- 
solution of the food. 

There is no need to make a laborious task of 
mastication. It should be an automatic and almost 



192 EVERYDAY EFFICIENCY 

unconscious action. Such directions as " bite into 
each morsel forty times " and " masticate until no 
taste remains in the food " are sheer nonsense and 
calculated to create dyspeptics. If you are in the 
habit of bolting your food, it will be necessary to 
school yourself to eating with deliberation. Then 
chew until the food has an inclination to go down 
the throat, so to speak — and let it go. 

Exercise No. 25. Allow a definite time for each 
meal, sufficient for conversation, leisurely eating 
and proper mastication. During the first five min- 
utes concentrate on dispelling all feeling of hurry, 
on arousing a sense of enjoyment, and on chewing 
with slow deliberation. After that you should not 
need to give any thought to mastication. A greater 
degree of nourishment will be derived from two 
meals a day eaten in this manner than from three 
swallowed in haste. 

It is not expected that this paper will do more 
than excite your interest and afford you an ele- 
mentary knowledge of the subject. You are recom- 
mended to procure one of the books mentioned in 
this and the previous lesson. Probably, " How to 
Live " will best serve your purpose. I will couple 
this recommendation with an admonition against 
paying too much attention to food regulation— or 



FOOD 193 

any other feature of hygiene for that matter. 
Many a man has developed into a hypochondriac 
through concentration on his health. 



BOOKS 
The Physiology of Food and Economy in Diet, 

W. M. Bayliss. Longmans, Green & Company, 
New York. 

Delusions in Diet or Parcimony in Nutrition, Sir 

James Crichton-Browne. Funk & Wagnalls Co., 
New York. 

Not by Bread Alone, Harvey W. Wiley. Hearst 
International Library Company, New York. 



REVIEW QUESTIONS 
IX 

81. What are the three most prevalent errors of eating? 

82. Why is appetite an unsafe guide ? 

83. Define " food." 

84. Name the most valuable foods. 



194 EVERYDAY EFFICIENCY 

85. What do we mean by " food value "? 

86. What is the best way of beginning diet reform, as 
a rule? 

87. Name the four essential needs of the body which 
are supplied by food. 

88. How would you classify a substance of which the 
food content included 70 per cent, of sugar ? 

89. What are the chief mineral salts required by the 
body? 

90. What is constructive metabolism ? 



LESSON TEN 

EXERCISE 

The principal purposes of exercise are the pro- 
motion of metabolism and the elimination of waste. 
If we think of the body as a furnace and food as 
fuel, we may consider exercise as performing the 
offices of the forced draught in expediting com- 
bustion and of the shaker in ejecting ashes. 

These are functions of the highest importance. 
The body in which the food is not properly as- 
similated and distributed by the circulatory system, 
or the body from which the waste tissue is not duly 
cast out, can not be in a healthful state. To put it 
otherwise — without regular exercise, a man can not 
maintain good health. There may be exceptions 
to this statement, but it is true in general. 

In the past generation there was a tendency to 
neglect exercise. In this, we appear to be going 
to the other extreme. At school and college the 
thing is decidedly overdone. For men in later life 
we have numerous advertised systems of physical 
culture which are calculated to produce unneces- 
sary development. To the man of sedentary voca- 

i95 



196 EVERYDAY EFFICIENCY 

tion it is a detriment — not an advantage — to possess 
the frame of a professional " strong man." 

If you have no need for exceptional muscles, do 
not develop them. Muscles once formed become a 
liability. They must be kept in condition or harm 
will ensue. This accounts for the fact that so many 
youthful athletes contract diseases of the organs 
in later life, — especially heart troubles. Fatty 
degeneration is apt to follow the discontinuance of 
hard athletic practices and the disuse of over- 
developed muscles. 

Amongst busy men, however, there are compara- 
tively few to whom the warning against excess 
needs to be addressed. Except, perhaps, for a brief 
period of enthusiastic devotion to some vaunted 
system of calisthenics, the business man is usually 
seriously remiss in this respect. The automobile, 
whilst it has added greatly to our comfort and con- 
venience, has undoubtedly induced many to neglect 
exercise. It can hardly be a coincidence that dur- 
ing the period since the invention of the motor car- 
riage degenerative diseases — and especially those 
of the kidneys, liver and heart — have increased 
markedly among men of middle age in the well-to- 
do classes. The man who drives a machine is apt 
to limit his exercise to what I have termed the 
" extra," to the entire exclusion of the regular daily 
exercise which he was probably in the habit of tak- 



EXERCISE 197 

ing formerly. A weekly round of golf is not suffi- 
cient for the man who, perhaps, does not exercise 
to the extent of a half mile walk on any other of 
the six days. Some one has said — it sounds like 
Gulick — that " it is hardly more absurd to take all 
one's exercise on Saturday, than to do all one's eat- 
ing on Sunday." 

It is impossible to say how much exercise any 
particular individual needs for the preservation of 
health. The question is closely related to the mat- 
ters of food, physique and other factors. It is one 
which each person must determine for himself after 
intelligent observation and experiment. The advice 
of his physician will, of course, be desirable. It 
should be possible for you to establish a standard 
represented by some form of exercise which you 
take regularly, — say walking. Let us suppose that 
a daily walk of six miles, or its equivalent, is just 
about the right amount of exercise to keep you fit. 
The more nearly you can come to getting exactly 
that amount regularly, the better will be the effect 
upon yourself. 

INTELLIGENT REGULATION NECESSARY 

This matter bears some analogy to that of food 

regulation. Just as with food, you should take 

account of all unusual exercise. For example, if 

you have commenced your day by an unaccustomed 



iq8 EVERYDAY EFFICIENCY 

task of digging in your garden, you should curtail 
your habitual exercise correspondingly. Modifica- 
tion of regular exercise will occur to the intelligent 
man who realizes the influence of muscular activity 
in the promotion of hygiene. If he is subjected to 
an extraordinarily hard spell of work he will 
lengthen his hours of rest and cut down his exer- 
cise whilst the unusual situation continues. On the 
other hand, if he has eaten in excess of his custom — 
at a banquet, for instance, — he will contrive to get 
more exercise than usual on the following day. It 
is such common sense measures as these that enable 
some men to almost entirely avoid the minor ail- 
ments from which others suffer constantly. 

Those of us who have vocations can rarely find 
the time necessary to keeping ourselves in perfect 
physical condition. We can, however, strive for 
the greatest possible approximation to that con- 
dition by regulating our exercise so as to secure the 
utmost benefit in the time available. The man who 
can spare no more than half an hour a day to the 
purpose must occupy that with more vigorous 
activity than walking. He must fill his require- 
ment with one of the concentrated forms of activity 
which we shall refer to presently. The important 
thing is to secure a due balance between physical 
exercise and physical rest. Excess of the former 
leads to exhaustion ; excess of the latter, to enerva- 



EXERCISE 199 

tion, both harmful conditions. Moderation in each 
is the desideratum. 

To be fully efficacious, exercise must be pervasive 
in its effect. It frequently happens that a man 
exercises certain muscles too much and others not 
enough. It is true that, in accordance with what is 
technically termed " the law of synergic move- 
ment," unused muscles are benefited by the use of 
others, but such indirect effect is not sufficient to 
maintain a healthy condition of the larger muscles. 
The postman, as an illustration, may walk to the 
point of fatigue daily and never sufficiently employ 
certain important muscles of his body. Greater 
benefit may be gained from five minutes of properly 
applied calisthenics than from a whole day of slow, 
dragging walking, which does not stimulate the 
heart and lungs, nor excite the eliminative action 
of the skin. 

VARIOUS DESIRABLE FORMS OF EXERCISE 
The best form of exercise is one which brings all, 
or nearly all, the muscles of the body into play. 
Swimming and rowing are most nearly ideal in this 
and other respects for the ordinary man. The for- 
mer can not always be secured daily, but it is pos- 
sible for any one, in almost any circumstances, to use 
a rowing machine. The apparatus is constructed 
with sliding seat and arrangement for varying ten- 



200 EVERYDAY EFFICIENCY 

sion, so that the conditions of actual rowing upon 
water are exactly reproduced, so far as the muscular 
effect is concerned. This method of exercise is 
heartily recommended by the writer who, in many 
years of extensive experience, has found it the most 
satisfactory of all means for securing regular and 
measured exercise. It has the additional advantage 
of being concentrated. By the adjustment of ten- 
sion and speed of action one can contrive any 
amount of exertion desired in any period of time. 
It may be added that the simpler form of machine, 
without springs and other complications, will be 
found most serviceable in the long run. 

Most formal physical exercises have the draw- 
back of monotony and lack of the interest element. 
This may be overcome by keeping a record and 
noting progress. In the case of the rowing 
machine, it is advised that you set it out-of-doors 
and imagine yourself sculling upon a stream, which 
will be no difficult matter if you have ever ex- 
perienced the reality. Now, let me give you an 
example of how to use the apparatus to the best 
effect. 

Exercise No. 26. With the Rowing Machine. 
Start with 100 strokes — fewer in case 100 overtax 
you — at a certain easy tension and a certain speed, 
using a clock with which to time yourself. A good 



EXERCISE 201 

rate to begin with is 30 strokes to the minute, 
warming up at the close, so as to bring the 100 
strokes within three minutes. On your record card 
enter the date, number of strokes and time. In a 
day or two you will make 105 or 110 at the same 
rate of speed, but should not strain in the effort. 
The stopping point should be as soon as you feel 
uncomfortably tired and winded. You are not 
training for a race, nor even giving your body all 
the exercise it will need for the day, but oiling the 
machinery and clearing away waste for the day's 
run. The rowing machine will limber up practically 
every muscle in the body and give to those which 
are little used all the exercise they need. 

Proceed daily, gradually increasing the number 
of strokes, but maintaining the original tension and 
speed. When you reach 200, or thereabouts, the 
rate of increase will be no more than 5 or 6 strokes 
daily, and sometimes none. When you have ar- 
rived at 300 strokes in ten minutes, maintain that 
measure until it becomes quite easy. Then increase 
the tension slightly every week, until you are pull- 
ing 300 strokes upstream in ten minutes without 
distress. After that you may increase your task by 
gradually quickening the pace. By this time you 
will have been using our machine for six or eight 
months and will know how to secure the necessary 
amount of exercise from it without exceeding ten 



202 EVERYDAY EFFICIENCY 

minutes or over-exerting yourself. At the end of 
ten minutes' continuous rowing you should regain 
your normal condition as to heart action and 
respiration within five minutes of stopping. 

Walking is a good form of exercise, but it will 
rarely be persisted in unless the daily walk has some 
definite objective. Walking at a brisk pace, with 
long stride and swinging gait, to or from work, 
perhaps both, is an excellent habit. Next to swim- 
ming and rowing, fencing is the best all-round habit, 
but it is, unfortunately, not at all popular in this 
country. Skipping is another very beneficial form 
of muscular activity, particularly to be recom- 
mended to persons desiring to improve their car- 
riage and walk. The skipping rope is a perfect 
supplement to the rowing machine. Indeed, with 
these two mechanical aids a man may obtain all the 
exercise he can possibly need. 

THE WEEKLY STINT SHOULD BE EXTRA 
Besides the regular daily exercise it is well to 
arrange for a regular " extra " once or twice a week. 
This need not be strenuous but should involve suf- 
ficient activity to induce profuse perspiration. In 
summer this can be secured in a variety of forms, 
golf for the man of middle age or over and tennis 
for the younger man being the best, all things con- 
sidered, though no one should play a game which 



EXERCISE 203 

so severely strains the heart as does tennis without 
being sure that the organ in question is quite sound. 
In winter the elder man will generally find gym- 
nastic exercises — under expert direction — the most 
convenient for his " extra " and the younger man, 
hand ball or boxing, which is not practiced in the 
United States to anything like the extent which it 
might be with advantage. 

Most men who take ample exercise during the 
summer allow it to diminish greatly during winter 
and suffer deterioration of health in consequence. 
Owing to the decreased oxidation accompanying 
the usual limitation of fresh air in the winter and 
the diminished activity of the automatic skin action, 
we generally need more exercise in that season than 
in the summer months. The requirement may be 
met by resorting to the gymnasium, but it is much 
preferable to get out-of-doors for an hour or two 
every day. It is in winter that the walk to and 
from the office is most strongly to be recommended. 

In selecting forms of play and exercise it is ad- 
visable to consider them in connection with the 
character of one's work. There should be a change 
of mental activity involved in the former. If, for 
example, the business is one calling for frequent 
decisions, relief should be sought in games which 
make little demand upon the will. If, on the other 
hand, the work is largely routine, the pastime 



2o 4 EVERYDAY EFFICIENCY 

should take forms that require mental activity, such 
as golf and baseball. 

In all exercise it is of importance that the mind 
be engaged. The ideal is snap and precision of 
movement with concentrated and interested atten- 
tion, — this, whether the exercise be in the form of a 
game or calisthenics. In the latter case the need 
of effort in this direction will be greater. Whilst 
the best results will follow exercise that is accom- 
panied by mental interest, exercise which is forced 
and even disagreeable will be beneficial. The 
tramp who works out a term at the stone pile in- 
variably improves in health, and men who have 
forced themselves to take regular exercise which 
they loathed have experienced marked benefit 
from it. 

The ideal to be aimed at is exercise which shall 
become an established part of the daily routine and 
be looked forward to as a genuine pleasure. It is 
not easy to contrive such a condition. Few men 
are situated so that they can go round nine holes 
of golf, row a mile or play a game of tennis every 
day. The regular exercise must be, as a rule, of a 
more or less formal character. But it is possible 
to invest it with the spirit of a game and to create 
interest in it by keeping the purpose freshly in 
mind. In this connection records of performance 
will be found effective. 



EXERCISE 205 

Civilized man has the sitting habit in a confirmed 
degree. He drops into a chair on every oppor- 
tunity and considers it a hardship if he is obliged to 
stand for five minutes at a time. This is especially 
true of Americans. The outgrowth of this habit 
is a general tendency to avoid unnecessary exertion. 
Even the typewriter, who has the greatest difficulty 
in making her monetary budget conform to her ex- 
penses, will not consider a two mile walk to the 
office, although she will be tied to a chair for eight 
hours of the day. I would recommend as an ex- 
cellent rule for practice, subject to common sense 
modification, of course : " Never sit when you can 
stand and never ride when you can walk." 

Not a little exercise is needed to overcome the 
effects of sitting improperly, — if, indeed, there is any 
proper way of sitting. The position is unnatural 
at the best. There is not adequate anatomical pro- 
vision in the human frame for sitting. Further- 
more, very few chairs are designed with sufficient 
regard for anatomical conditions as they exist. 
Few persons maintain the concave curve of the 
spine whilst sitting, but allow their backs to hump, 
their chests to fall in and their abdomens to relax. 
A variety of deformities and diseases are traceable 
to the chair. 

A habit of sitting upright seems extremely diffi- 
cult to acquire with most persons and when the 



206 EVERYDAY EFFICIENCY 

effort to correct a faulty posture is made after thirty- 
years of age several months of close attention are 
generally necessary to secure the desired result. 
The injurious effects of sitting may be counteracted 
to a considerable extent by the exercises which will 
be described presently. Help will be gained by 
hanging from the top of the chair a hard cushion, 
about two inches thick and five inches wide. It 
should fit into the curve of the back, below the 
shoulder blades. 

A VARIETY OF CALISTHENIC EXERCISES 
Calisthenics are generally found tiresome, and, 
after the enthusiasm and novelty have worn off, are 
apt to be entirely abandoned. There are many 
courses of extensive exercises of this character 
which would be highly beneficial if habitually pur- 
sued. But they usually call for fifteen minutes, 
morning and night, with gradual increase of time 
and effort. It has been the writer's observation 
that very few men, indeed, continue such courses 
for six months. Moreover, many of these calis- 
thenic exercises have the effect of producing un- 
necessary muscle, which is a handicap. For these 
reasons they are not recommended as the main 
physical exercise, although certain forms of them 
may be usefully employed during three or four 
minutes twice daily for special purposes which can 



EXERCISE 207 

not be attained as readily in any other way. For 
example, the man whose exercise is confined to 
walking should add some of the calisthenic trunk 
movements and the man who needs development of 
the abdominal muscles should resort to the exercises 
especially designed to secure that result. But a 
golf player would not need to employ either of these 
measures. 

I shall now give a few simple exercises which 
need not occupy more than a few minutes once or 
twice a day. Two minutes daily given to any one 
of them will insure perceptible benefit in a few 
weeks. Each is designed for a special purpose and 
the student may restrict himself to those only for 
which he has a need. 

Exercises Nos. 23 and 24. For development of 
the chest and promotion of deep breathing. These 
will be found in Lesson Eight. 

Exercise No. 27. For chest development and 
straightening back. 

Standing upright, slightly leaning forward with 
heels together. Bring the extended arms sharply 
upward with fists clenched and meeting in line with 
the mouth. Throw the arms sharply back in line 
with the shoulders, knuckles downward. Forward 
to former position; then back, timing the movement 
by crying sharply " one-two, one-two." Each 



208 EVERYDAY EFFICIENCY 

movement should be distinct, with an instant's 
pause at the end of it. 

Come to rest at the second position, that is, with 
arms extended from shoulders at either side. Now, 
swing the arms round vigorously so that the fists 
perform complete circles with the shoulder sockets 
as centres. Rest and repeat. 

Exercise No. 28. For strengthening the ab- 
dominal muscles and exercising those of the 
trunk. 

Stand as in No. 27. Raise the arms to full length 
above the head, fingers extended and thumbs locked. 
Without any bending elsewhere, bring the upper 
part of the body slowly forward, making the hips 
act like the hinge of a pocket-knife. Whilst the 
knees are kept straight, the body should be brought 
over in an effort to touch the toes with the finger 
tips. You will not be able to do this at first, but 
in sixty days the muscles should have become suf- 
ficiently supple to enable you to place the palms of 
the hands on the floor. 9 

Exercises Nos. 23, 27 and 28 are among the most 
effective used in military " setting-up drill." With 
little other exercise, the writer has seen slouchy 
ploughboys transformed into smart figures by these 
means in a few months. 



EXERCISE 209 

Exercise No. 29. For strengthening the back 
and abdominal muscles. 

Lie full length upon the back with arms extended 
at sides. Keeping the legs straight and heels upon 
the ground, slowly raise the trunk to a sitting 
posture, then slowly drop back to former position. 
Repeat several times. 

At first you may need to facilitate the movement 
by pressing the hands upon the legs, but shortly 
you should be able to do the exercise with arms 
folded. 

Exercise No. 30. For strengthening leg muscles 
and promoting balance and uprightness of carriage. 

Stand as before, heels together, toes turned out 
at an angle of forty-five degrees. Place the hands 
on the hips with arms akimbo. Sink down slowly — 
heels rising as the body descends — until you are 
lightly squatting on the heels. Rise slowly to the 
first position. Repeat several times. The toes 
should not have moved during the exercise. 

These and all exercises should be performed with- 
out strain. When you experience an easy feeling 
of command over your muscles and movements, 
you may be sure that the activity is working bene- 
ficially. Do not exert yourself beyond the point of 
ordinary fatigue. As soon as you begin to feel 
tired, your breath becomes labored or your heart 



210 EVERYDAY EFFICIENCY 

palpitates strongly, break off, relax and rest. It is 
a mistake to make hard work of your exercise. 
Your records of performance are designed to stimu- 
late interest, not to incite excessive effort. 



BOOKS 
Old Age — Its Cause and Prevention. Sanford 
Bennett. Physical Culture Publishing Co., New 
York. An excellent system of exercises for men of 
advanced age and those of feeble vitality. 

CasselTs Health Handbooks. Cassell & Com- 
pany, New York. In these volumes will be found a 
number of calisthenic exercises designed to effect 
various results. 



REVIEW QUESTIONS 
X 

91. Why is it disadvantageous to develop muscle in 
excess of one's actual requirement? 

92. What is the chief objection to calisthenic exer- 
cises ? 



EXERCISE 211 

93. What is the general relation between food and 
exercise ? 

94. What is the best kind of exercise? 

95. Name a few forms of exercise which come within 
this description. 

96. Is apparatus to be recommended in connection 
with exercises? 

97. What is the ideal to be sought in connection with 
exercise ? 

98. What would you consider the best forms of ex- 
ercise for the man whose work involves a consid- 
erable amount of walking? 

99. Is it desirable to develop as much muscle as 
possible ? 

100. Why is it important that the mind should be en- 
gaged in exercises? 



LESSON ELEVEN 
REST 

A universal law of nature requires that action 
and relaxation shall alternate. Its operation is 
manifested in all organic life. It admits of the 
expenditure of an immense amount of energy with- 
out entailing exhaustion. Your heart and lungs 
work incessantly through the long years of a life 
because each contraction of their muscles is fol- 
lowed by a slackening of them. 

In all Creation, human beings alone violate this 
law. Only they attempt to keep muscle and nerve 
under continuous strain for long periods. And the 
American business man is the worst offender in 
this respect. It is not the intensity of his labor that 
harms, but the fact that his waking hours are 
utterly devoid of peace. With us, restlessness of 
body and mind have become second nature. When 
tired we seek relief in a break-neck automobile 
drive. Our nerves are seemingly soothed by 
noise — that is to say, we imagine that they are, 
whereas they are merely lethargized, as, for in- 
stance, by the inane racket of a cabaret perform- 

212 



REST 213 

ance. Constant craving to be " doing something " 
makes us intolerant of rest until it is forced upon 
us by a condition bordering upon exhaustion. 
Every minute of relaxation is looked upon as so 
much waste. 

Now, relaxation may be systematically practiced 
without making any appreciable drafts on the hours 
devoted to activities. A little timely surcease from 
effort at frequent intervals is sufficient to keep the 
exertions of the most active man within healthful 
bounds. Some one has reduced the force of the 
heart-beats to terms of horse-power. The figures 
are stupendous, — and yet the heart rests but a 
fraction of a second between beats. 

Let us liken the human body to a lamp fed by oil. 
The utmost service may be secured from the lamp 
by trimming its wick, say, every hour. We will 
assume that, under such conditions, it renders an 
average light of sixteen candle-power, with little 
fluctuation from the mean degree. If you should 
trim at intervals of two hours you would find that, 
with an equal, or perhaps greater, consumption of 
fuel, the lamp will yield no more than an average 
of twelve candle power, whilst the variation be- 
tween maximum and minimum will be much more 
marked. Again, defer removal of the ash until the 
light has almost expired and you will find that the 
average efficiency of the lamp has been enormously 



214 EVERYDAY EFFICIENCY 

lower than when the wick was trimmed at short 
intervals. In each of these experiments your lamp 
has acted in true correspondence to a natural law 
which applies to all organic life. In the succeeding 
paragraphs we shall continue to trace the analogy 
between the lamp and the human system. 

Fatigue is not indicative of the exhaustion of 
energy or the depletion of the sources of force, any 
more than the dimness of your untrimmed lamp is 
due to the absence of the agencies that produce 
light. The oil and the wick are there, but pre- 
vented by the encumbering ash from exercising 
their normal function. So it is with the human 
body. The condition of being tired is a symptom 
of poisoning by the accumulation of waste products 
in the tissues, with the result of impeding physical 
and mental activity. 

That we are not "used up" when we employ 
that expression to denote extreme fatigue is proved 
by the fact that, although seemingly incapable of 
the slightest effort, we will respond to an urgent 
demand for great exertion. The power is present, 
but its exercise is rendered difficult by the clogging 
of the machinery. Whether the fatigue be physical 
or mental the seat of the trouble is in the nervous 
system. It will find its own remedy automatically 
in rest. The time required for recuperation will 
depend, in increasing ratio, upon the length of in- 



REST 215 

terval between rest, just as is the case with the 
lamp. For example, a man, having worked six 
hours at a stretch, may require one hour for 
restoration, whereas, four ten-minute spells of rest, 
interspersed through his period of labor, would 
have produced the same effect. This fact, and 
other kindred truths, have been proved by practical 
test in the munitions factories and elsewhere. It 
has been found that men engaged in every kind of 
work exhibit greater efficiency, both as to quality 
and quantity of product, when their labor is broken 
by short and frequent rests. 

In a factory requiring the most severe physical 
exertion, the output was increased by compelling 
the men to lay off for fifteen minutes of every 
hour, without lengthening the working day. In 
other words, by alternating three-quarters of an 
hour of work with one-quarter of an hour of rest, 
the men were enabled to accomplish more than in 
the usual eight-hour day, and to leave the factory 
comparatively fresh. 

" Professor Maggiora discovered that if he 
worked his forearm in the ergograph until it was 
exhausted, it took him two hours to become com- 
pletely rested, that is, in two hours he could do 
just as much work again. He also discovered that 
with but one hour's rest, he could do only one- 
quarter as much work. That is, expressed mathe- 



216 EVERYDAY EFFICIENCY 

matically, the power to work increases as the square 
of one's recovery from fatigue." 

I have dwelt at length on this point because of 
its importance to every one engaged in active life. 
I have examined a number of records furnished by 
intense workers. The majority of these records 
show a distinct falling off in the quality and quan- 
tity of the afternoon's work, unquestionably due to 
a continuous spell of effort in the forenoon. The 
midday recess is not sufficient to permit of com- 
plete restoration, especially as it is probably im- 
paired by difficult digestion, occasioned by eating 
when fatigued. The man who is accustomed to 
working hard for three hours on end may, by break- 
ing the period with a few ten-minute rests, accom- 
plish more, keep constantly nearly at par, and go 
to his lunch with little or no sensation of fatigue. 
The business man, who applies himself with con- 
centration to his task, should relax after each one 
of them. An average of ten minutes to the hour 
is not too much to allow for rest when work is done 
at high pressure. 

The man who regulates his work in this manner 
is never unduly fatigued; he starts each afternoon 
with as much energy at his command as he had in 
the morning; one day's labor never entails more 
fatigue than he can entirely recover from before 
commencing the next. Under this system he can 



REST 217 

continue indefinitely, or, at least, with no other 
interruption than that of the ordinary vacation. 
His production will be more regular and greater in 
the aggregate than if he should work on the usual 
plan of two long spells each day and irregular lay- 
offs on account of over-exertion or staleness. 

UNNECESSARY FATIGUE 
In the foregoing paragraphs we have had in mind 
the conscientious hard worker. But not every man 
who suffers from fatigue is overworked. The 
cause may often be found in failure to keep the 
body fit. It may be traced to over-eating, excess- 
ive consumption of tobacco or alcohol, or any one 
of a score of other common indiscretions. Quite 
as likely, the trouble is of a mental character. In- 
sufficient sleep, worry and lack of diversion create 
a condition of mind which will react upon the 
body, impairing its strength and efficiency. Too 
frequently fatigue roots in sheer indolence. The 
only cure for such a condition is drastic regulation 
of working hours, adhered to with a strong will, 
and creation of interest in one's work. Cases are 
numerous of men who, having exercised the de- 
termination to drive themselves mercilessly for 
months, have learned to enjoy work and become 
habitually energetic. 

During the remainder of this chapter we shall 



218 EVERYDAY EFFICIENCY 

only consider the case of the normally hard-work- 
ing man who does not wittingly allow anything to 
seriously impair his efficiency. For the benefit of 
such we shall add a few suggestions as to methods 
of counteracting fatigue and securing the best re- 
sults from rest. 

RELAXATION 
The ability to relax at will and under any cir- 
cumstances is of such great value as to amply repay 
any amount of pains taken in its acquisition. More 
or less helpful suggestions may be gained from 
books, — perhaps the most practical will be found in 
the Cassell's Health Handbooks — but it is mainly 
a matter of practice. Time and patience will be 
required, especially in the case of a person of 
nervous temperament. If, after three or four 
months of regular practice, the student finds him- 
self capable of " letting go " completely in mind 
and body, whenever he may desire to do so, he will 
have acquired the faculty at comparatively small 
cost. Ten minutes of absolute relaxation repre- 
sents a surprisingly great amount of rest. One of 
the largest writers of Life Insurance, and a man of 
marvelous energy, used to break his work three 
or four times a day by lying upon the floor in his 
private office, stretching his limbs and then relax- 
ing. He would come in almost exhausted and go 



REST 219 

out again quite fresh after fifteen minutes devoted 
to this practice. 

The man who can relax need never suffer from 
overstrain. That is not to say, however, that he 
never does. Many hard-working men become so 
absorbed in their work that it seems almost im- 
possible for them to cease until compelled to do so 
by fatigue. On the other hand, among the most 
intense workers are a few who contrive, by means 
of frequent spells of rest, to finish long days of 
close application almost as fresh as when they 
started. 

Walter Dill Scott, in "Increasing Human Effi- 
ciency in Business," says : " The ability to relax at 
will and to remain in an efficient condition, but free 
from nervousness, may be acquired more or less 
completely by all persons. It is accomplished by 
a voluntary control of the muscles of the arms, 
legs and face ; by breathing slowly and deeply, and 
by placing the body in a condition of general relaxa- 
tion. This antecedent condition of relaxation 
brings all the forces of the mind and body more 
completely under control and makes it possible to 
marshal them more effectively. It also gives one a 
feeling of control and assurance, which minimizes 
the possibility of confusion and embarrassment in 
the presence of an important task." Relaxation 
not only relieves fatigue, but energizes so that 



220 EVERYDAY EFFICIENCY 

athletes, actors, public speakers and others employ 
it as a preparation for extraordinary efforts of va- 
rious descriptions. 

Exercise No. 31. Seat yourself in a reclining 
chair so that you are perfectly comfortable and all 
strain is taken off the muscles. The desired con- 
dition may be promoted by raising the feet upon 
another chair and letting the arms hang by the 
sides. 

Exclude all thought of work from the mind and 
reduce it, as nearly as possible, to a condition of 
inactivity. Breathe slowly, deeply and regularly. 

Maintain this condition, undisturbed for three or 
four minutes to start with, gradually lengthening 
the time, until it becomes possible to remain abso- 
lutely still and mentally composed for ten minutes 
or longer. 

EXCESSIVE FATIGUE IS GENERALLY 
AVOIDABLE 

" The time when fatigue becomes a really dan- 
gerous agent of destruction is when a man comes 
from his work tired and goes to it equally tired. 
Such fatigue as this keeps him living on a low level 
of efficiency. * * * This may be because he 
works too hard, but it is more likely to be because 
he does not know how to look out for himself. ,, 



REST 221 

Most men waste a tremendous amount of energy. 
Not enough thought is given to the regulation of 
work. Probably the majority of business men 
order their day wrongly. It is generally com- 
menced with attention to mail, and comparatively 
small matters are allowed to occupy time in the 
forenoon, whilst important appointments are made 
for the afternoon. This arrangement allows the 
edge to be worn off a man's freshness and energy 
by the less consequential affairs, and compels him 
to deal with the more difficult and important mat- 
ters when he is jaded. Salesmen frequently act in 
the same illogical manner, putting in the early 
hours of the day in trivial tasks and making closing 
appointments for hours when they are bound to be 
more or less tired. 

Intelligent arrangement of work and frequent 
short spells of rest will obviate a great deal of 
fatigue. 

It is often said that the best way of getting rid 
of fatigue is by change of occupation. This is true 
to a limited extent. When the change involves 
nerve ease it undoubtedly helps the recuperative 
processes and under certain circumstances may be 
more effective than rest. For example, if a man 
has been engaged in sedentary work until becoming 
tired and nervous, a leisurely walk or other gentle 
physical exercise is preferable to complete inaction. 



222 EVERYDAY EFFICIENCY 

On the same principle the character of a man's rest 
and recreation should be regulated to a large ex- 
tent by the character of his work. 

In times of great stress and difficulty the great 
thing is to live one day at a time, positively deter- 
mining not to assume the burden of the next before 
its arrival. This does not involve disregard for the 
future. It simply means that having done all that 
can be done to-day, you refrain from needlessly 
worrying about to-morrow. 

Under extraordinary strain the temptation to 
resort to drugs and stimulants may be great. On 
this point Dr. Gulick says : " The stimulant does 
not bring any new supply of energy into the system. 
There is not one atom of it added. All it does is 
to open the conduits wider. It furnishes nothing 
except the chance to spend faster." Recognizing 
the extraordinary demands of modern business life, 
he admits that occasions may arise when a man will 
be justified in resorting to such props, but only on 
the condition of taking a sufficient rest after the 
strain is over. 

" We are just beginning to discover how much 
really goes on in the mind during sleep. Sleep is 
not only the time for physical growth, but I am 
inclined to think that it is equally the time for 
mental growth, — the time when the personality is 
formed; that impressions which have been gained 



REST 223 

during the day are worked over new and are made 
into a part of the sum total; that new resolutions 
which we have taken become rooted and strength- 
ened then, new ideas that we have hit upon are 
digested and given their place in the memory. It 
seems to be a time when the mind sorts over its 
experiences and casts up accounts." In short, 
sleep is the occasion of great activity on the part of 
the Sub-Conscious Mind. There is no evidence of 
influence upon this activity except such as is derived 
from suggestion given consciously or unconsciously 
during the wakeful state. Consequently whilst 
sleep affords the greatest opportunity for mental 
cultivation and self-improvement, the advantage 
to be gained from it must be largely dependent 
upon deliberate direction of the subjective con- 
sciousness. 

THE SUB-CONSCIOUS MIND IN SLEEP 
It is probable that, in the absence of any con- 
trolling influence, the Sub-Conscious Mind occupies 
itself during sleep mainly with the strongest and 
latest impressions received during the day. These 
are necessarily of a mixed character and some of 
them undesirable of development and permanency. 
It is evident that the best service can be secured 
from the Sub-Conscious Mind during sleep only by 
giving it specific directions for its activities. The 



224 EVERYDAY EFFICIENCY 

most effective way of doing this is by concentrating 
deeply just before falling asleep on the subjects 
which it is desired that the mind shall occupy itself 
with during sleep. It is not too much to say that 
this is the most powerful of all mediums for char- 
acter building. Although the effect is not so great, 
precisely the same principle is operative in auto- 
suggestion practiced whilst resting or relaxing. 
This has the additional advantage that impressions 
made upon the Sub-Conscious Mind under such 
conditions are likely to be revived by it during the 
kindred state of sleep. 

Few persons have the happy faculty of falling 
asleep at will, even after going to bed. In most 
cases there is more or less difficulty which may be 
minimized by intelligent action. The mental state 
is most important. A condition of calm, easy con- 
tentment, free from anxiety, is to be desired. In 
order to secure this there should be an interval of 
mental and physical quiet before retiring. The 
writer has for many years enjoyed excellent sleep 
commencing within ten minutes of laying his head 
upon the pillow. This he attributes largely to an 
invariable habit of reading for half an hour before 
going to bed. No matter how late the hour, and 
especially if the evening has been spent in any form 
of excitement, this practice is observed. 

Without actually suffering from insomnia, many 



REST 225 

persons experience difficulty in falling asleep. In 
perhaps the majority of cases this is due to some 
removable cause and even to one of the simplest 
character. The limits of this lesson will not permit 
of expatiating upon the point, but the student who 
may be interested is directed to Gulick's " The 
Efficient Life " for valuable hints that can hardly 
fail to help. 

There is for every person a certain amount of 
sleep which is most conducive to his well-being. 
This amount may be measured to within fifteen 
minutes and, of course, should be subject to modifi- 
cation to meet special needs. After an unusually 
hard day's work an extra allowance would be ad- 
visable and during a prolonged strain it is the part 
of wisdom to lengthen the hours of sleep. 

More or less than the proper amount of sleep is 
injurious. Just as one may form a habit of over- 
eating and feel the need of the excess, so one may 
regularly over-sleep and apparently require the 
extra indulgence. But, in one case the digestive 
system, and in the other the nervous system is 
steadily impaired. It is well worth while to ascer- 
tain under what amount of sleep you maintain the 
highest degree of health and working efficiency. 
This may be done by physical and mental tests, cor- 
rectly recorded and compared. For the physical 
test the writer has found the rowing machine and 



226 EVERYDAY EFFICIENCY 

skipping-rope efficacious, and for the mental test, 
memorizing lines of such poems as " Paradise Re- 
gained " and writing digests of a few pages of prose, 
performing both before breakfast. In these and all 
other exercises suggested in this Course it is de- 
signed to make the practice serve more than the 
primary purpose. 

We will close the Section on Physical Efficiency 
with the fifteen rules of hygiene given by " How to 
Live." 

Air 

1. Ventilate every room you occupy. 

2. Wear light, loose and porous clothing. 

3. Seek out-of-door occupations and recrea- 
tions. 

4. Sleep out, if you can. 

5. Breathe deeply. 

Food 

6. Avoid overeating and overweight. 

7. Eat sparingly of meats and eggs. 

8. Eat some hard, some bulky, some raw foods. 

9. Eat slowly. 

Poisons 

10. Evacuate thoroughly, regularly and fre- 
quently. 

11. Stand, sit and walk erect. 



REST 227 

12. Do not allow poisons and infections to enter 
the body. 

13. Keep teeth, gums and tongue clear. 

Activity 

14. Work, play, rest and sleep in moderation. 

15. Keep serene. 



REVIEW QUESTIONS 
XI 

1 01. State the law of sustained energy. 

102. What is the best method of working under this 
law? 

103. What is the physiological nature of fatigue ? 

104. Is it correct to assume that in a condition of fatigue 
the sources of energy have been exhausted ? 

105. How may the business man best apply the principle 
of alternate action and relaxation in his work? 

106. Name some of the unnecessary causes of fatigue. 

107. What is the best way of performing a full day's 
work with a minimum of fatigue? 



228 EVERYDAY EFFICIENCY 

108. In what manner may you turn sleep to account 
aside from its recuperative utility? 

109. Is it advisable to indulge in the greatest amount 
of sleep obtainable? 

no. How may one decide upon the amount of sleep 
which is most conducive to his well-being? 



SECTION THREE 
Functional Efficiency 



LESSON TWELVE 
TIME CONSUMPTION 

In the preceding sections of this Course we have 
studied the mental and physical conditions that 
make for Personal Efficiency. We shall now pro- 
ceed to consider methods conducive to Functional 
Efficiency, that is to say, efficient performance. 
Any plan for practicing efficiency must be based 
upon some system of Time Consumption, because 
Time is the primary essential of all achievement. 

In one respect — and only one — every man is the 
equal of every other. Each of us enjoys an endow- 
ment of twenty-four hours daily throughout life. 
What we do with our Time determines what we 
are and what we shall become. 

There is no more important matter in your life 
than this question of Time Consumption. Every- 
thing else hinges upon it. The difference in suc- 
cess, in health and in happiness, between this man 
and that, is to be found in their respective ways of 
utilizing Time. 

The general misuse and waste of Time are due, 
in the main, to lack of appreciation of its value and 

231 



232 EVERYDAY EFFICIENCY 

to ignorance of proper methods of employing it. 
Comparatively few men maintain systematic regu- 
lation of their working hours and fewer still exer- 
cise intelligent control over that much larger por- 
tion of the day which is free from the demands of 
their calling. Even in the case of the most indus- 
trious worker, a twenty-four-hour existence hardly 
seems to be justified by the useful employment of 
only one-third of it. 

THE OBLIGATION ATTACHING TO LEISURE 
The last generation of business men and em- 
ployees looked upon the work-day as a distinctly 
separate part of their life, not related to " after 
hours " by any common interests. The demands 
and requirements of the former were jealously ex- 
cluded from the latter. The firm or employer had 
a right to a certain amount of service which was 
measured with the precision of a grocer weighing 
sugar or cheese. " After hours " belonged ex- 
clusively to the private individual. What he did 
with them was no concern of any one but himself. 
He did not recognize any relation between his 
leisure and his labor, much less any obligation upon 
the one growing out of the other. 

Latter-day developments have brought about 
an entirely new view of this matter. Higher 
standards of business ethics have been set up. 



TIME CONSUMPTION 233 

Competition, with its demand upon efficiency, has 
wrought great changes. Reason and logic have 
made their appeal felt. The corporation and the 
manager of to-day justly claim the right of control 
over the leisure of the men to whom they pay 
salaries or commissions, at least to the extent of 
inhibiting habits and indulgences calculated to re- 
duce their business capacity. 

But the most effective factor in this reformation, 
as in all human progression, has been self-interest. 
Men have been awakened to the opportunities latent 
in leisure by the shining examples of such successes 
as those achieved by Stephen Girard, Abraham 
Lincoln, Alva Edison, Andrew Carnegie and James 
J. Hill, through turning the " after hours " to ac- 
count. It came to be realized that life is a compre- 
hensive whole and cannot be divided into disjointed 
units — that every action has its reaction ; that every 
thought has its sequel; that every hour has its in- 
fluence upon every later hour. It became apparent, 
in fact, that a man's leisure affects his character 
and may be made to affect his capacity, even to a 
greater extent than does his daily labor. 

Under the circumstances, it is clearly the height 
of folly to allow our conduct in " after hours " to 
react injuriously upon our work-day. But this is 
only a negative aspect of the question. The same 
consideration of self-interest should prompt positive 



234 EVERYDAY EFFICIENCY 

action. It is not enough to eschew harmful habits. 
We must cultivate others of a beneficial character. 
We must aim at general self-improvement and, in 
doing so, we cannot fail to effect increase of busi- 
ness efficiency. 

Not infrequently one encounters young men who 
entertain the delusion that efficiency may be donned 
and doffed with the office coat ; that it may be fully 
exercised in business hours and utterly neglected in 
spare time. The truth is that the person who is 
habitually inefficient during his leisure can not be 
more than partially efficient in his work. And, 
moreover, the transition from one state to the other 
involves an effort which represents waste of energy. 

Let us suppose that you use a machine for seven 
hours of each day. During that period you oil and 
tend it, but at all other times neglect it, allowing it 
to rust and become dirty. Every day you have the 
preparatory task of putting your machine into 
working condition and, what is worse, its mechanical 
efficiency fast deteriorates. But by taking ordinary 
care of it when not in use, it would be ready for 
employment whenever needed and its efficient 
service would be greatly prolonged. 

Now, the machine which you employ in your 
work is composed of your body and brain. The 
degree of service which they will render you in your 
business must depend in large measure upon the 



TIME CONSUMPTION 235 

treatment which they receive from you outside of 
working hours. The man who is habitually and 
consistently efficient in his private affairs is, on that 
account, more efficient in his business than he would 
be otherwise, because the faculties that make for 
general efficiency are kept constantly in practice. 

START REFORMATION WITH SELF- 
EXAMINATION 

Any plan for practicing efficiency must begin with 
a consideration of time. And before we can decide 
what we shall do with it we must ascertain how 
much we have at our disposal. This will lead us 
to an examination of our present habits with a view 
to detecting waste due to faulty methods and profit- 
less occupations. 

Even though your life is ordered with a fair de- 
gree of regularity, it is highly improbable that you 
can make anything like a precise statement of your 
Time Consumption. Perhaps your hours for busi- 
ness, sleep and meals are fixed, but have you any 
system for the disposition of your leisure, which 
represents one-fourth of all your Time? Most per- 
sons have but a hazy idea of how they spend what 
is called " spare time." They have no realization 
of the amount which is wasted or occupied other- 
wise than they had designed. 

We are not taking account of business hours in 



236 EVERYDAY EFFICIENCY 

this place, because the course is devoted to a con- 
sideration of personal efficiency, in contradistinction 
to vocational efficiency. Let us consider business 
hours as beginning when you reach your office in 
the morning, and ending when you start for home 
in the evening, and class the rest of your day as 
" leisure/' or Time entirely at your own disposal. 

Exercise No. 32. Upon six cards, taken from 
your file, make daily records of the disposition of 
your leisure during a week, except for Sunday. 

The object is to secure a statement of Time Con- 
sumption which will be as nearly as possible repre- 
sentative of your usual habits. The fact that you 
are keeping a tally can not fail to influence your 
actions to some extent, but do not deliberately 
deviate from your usual manner of spending Time. 

The record of one day may run somewhat like 
the following example: 7, rose; 7-7:45, bath, toilet, 
exercise; 7:45-8:10, breakfast; 8:10-8:50, home to 
office; 5:15-6, office to home; 6-6:30, odds and 
ends; 6:30-7:10, dinner; 7:10-8:15, smoking, talk- 
ing, etc. ; 8 : 15-9 : 20, visiting neighbors ; 9 : 20-10 : 30, 
reading, talking, playing cards; 10:30-10:50, killing 
time; 10:50-11:10, getting to bed. The record of 
the next day may differ considerably from this. 

When your six cards are completed, make a care- 
ful examination and comparison of them. They 



TIME CONSUMPTION 237 

will probably show more or less irregularity in the 
times of your routine occurrences — meals, rising, 
retiring, starting to work, returning home, etc. It 
is equally probable that they will reveal a great 
waste of Time and indicate that you drift through 
your " after hours " without any serious attempt 
to regulate them or to turn them to profitable ac- 
count. I want you to gain a full realization of the 
shiftless manner in which you are disposing of 
your leisure. This is the first step in reforma- 
tion. 

You must not stop at merely ascertaining how 
you use your time. The next step is examination. 
Does a comparison of days show irregularity? Am 
I devoting too much time to certain things? What 
might I do with the hour spent on the car? Is it 
worth while reading two newspapers a day? Could 
I not derive more profit and pleasure from my 
leisure by injecting more of the intellectual element 
into it, etc.? 

And now let us proceed to the second step in our 
process of regulating Time Consumption. 

Exercise No. 33. With due consideration of the 
conditions as exhibited in the records to which 
reference has been made, draw up a schedule of 
Time Consumption, with a view to adhering to it. 
Stated times must be set for all tasks and events 



238 EVERYDAY EFFICIENCY 

that occur regularly, and certain periods of the 
evening must be devoted to specific occupation. 

The following example will serve as a sugges- 
tion: 7, rise; 7-7:45, exercise, bathe, dress; 7:45- 
8:15, breakfast; 8:15-9, home to office; 5-5:45, 
office to home; 5:45-6:15, rest and relaxation; 
6:15-7, dinner; 7-7:30, reading or conversation; 
7:30-9, study; 9-10:45, recreation (regulated as to 
character) ; 10 : 45-11, exercise, etc. ; 11, bed. 

This schedule entails no drastic change in your 
habits. It reduces the disposition of your Time to 
regularity and it provides for one hour and a half 
of specific and purposeful occupation every evening. 
(The program does not include Sunday.) 

The observance of this regime for one or two 
months, and until it shall have become customary, 
will work an appreciable improvement in your con- 
sumption of Time and in your general efficiency. 

The foregoing schedule does not include all the 
Time available to you, by any means. As you be- 
come more regardful of your expenditure of Time, 
your concern will be aroused for the numerous petty 
wastes. I shall ask you to employ a more detailed 
record of Time Consumption later on — one that 
will bring to light the more obscure leaks which are 
generally entirely overlooked. 

A later lesson of this course will deal with stand- 
ards. When you apply the principles set forth in 



TIME CONSUMPTION 239 

it to your own conditions and processes, the result 
will be saving of Time in most cases. For example, 
I assume that, as with most persons, your hours of 
sleep are regulated by inclination, rather than in- 
telligent judgment or actual requirement. It is 
quite possible that test would discover one hour 
less sleep than your customary allowance to be 
beneficial, for more than necessary is enervating 
and otherwise harmful. In this case an enormous 
saving of Time would be effected by standardizing 
sleep. 

REDUCING TIME CONSUMPTION TO A 
SYSTEM 

The ideal condition is one in which there is no 
waste, and all occupation is ordered. This does not 
involve abstention from recreation, nor slavery to 
system. On the contrary, the man whose hours are 
well regulated finds more Time for serious occupa- 
tion and more Time for recreation than he other- 
wise could. He is never hurried, never oppressed 
by a sense of neglected duties, and never at a loss 
" to know what to do with himself." 

Victor Hugo said : " He who every morning 
plans the transactions of the day and follows out 
that plan carries a thread that will guide him 
through the labyrinth of the most busy life. The 
orderly arrangement of his time is like a ray of 



2 4 o EVERYDAY EFFICIENCY 

light that darts itself through all his occupations. 
But where no plan is laid, where the disposal of time 
is surrendered merely to the chance of incidents, 
chaos will soon reign." 

The trouble is that we have the habit of looking 
upon our leisure in much the same way as certain 
manufacturers did the " waste " of their mills until 
they learned that the material thrown away was 
capable of conversion into valuable by-product. 
We fall into the way of regarding " after hours " as 
" seconds " — Time of an inferior grade, because un- 
profitable. And so it is, as we use it. But the 
truth is that spare Time may be made the most 
effective of all. In it a man has the opportunity 
for general self-improvement as well as for greater 
business capacity. By good use of leisure he may 
make his working hours more remunerative, 
whether he be compensated by salary or commis- 
sion. 

I am convinced that no business or professional 
man can make continuous improvement in his voca- 
tional efficiency without devoting some thought to 
the broader aspects of his calling outside of his 
active hours. The business man whose ideas and 
knowledge are derived exclusively from experience 
may be likened to the man who bolts his food with- 
out mastication. The mind of such a man is filled 
with half-conceived principles, faulty theories and 



TIME CONSUMPTION 241 

incomplete facts. With hard work he may make 
a fairly creditable showing under ordinary condi- 
tions, but he is bound to fail in situations that de- 
mand precise knowledge and sound judgment. 

For the rest, it is easily possible to so order our 
recreation that we shall derive both pleasure and 
profit from it. It is the broad, scholarly, thought- 
ful man who makes the greatest success in business. 
Every one of the most prominent financiers and in- 
dustrial leaders in this country is well informed on 
numerous subjects beside his specialty. And there 
is no doubt but that each of them has found the 
Time expended on what we may call " side issues " 
a profitable investment from the monetary point of 
view. The gain is less in the matter of specific 
knowledge than in that of mental development. 

LEISURE DEVOTED TO SELF-IMPROVEMENT 
The work-day of an industrious business man in- 
volves strain upon nerves and bodily powers. At 
the close of it he needs rest and diversion. His 
" after hours " should afford both. The point is to 
so regulate them that, without sacrifice of reason- 
able relaxation and pleasure, the chosen occupa- 
tions shall contribute to mental development, ac- 
quisition of knowledge and character-building. 

The whole field of knowledge is open to you, and 
you may make excursions into the realm of dis- 



242 EVERYDAY EFFICIENCY 

covery if you choose. It is not necessary to resort 
to literature. Let it be taxidermy or tombstones; 
botany or beetles; cryptograms or caricatures. 
The subject is of secondary importance. The main 
thing is to acquire an accurate knowledge of it. 
This, as Arnold Bennett says, " coupled with a care- 
fully nurtured sense of the relativity of that subject 
to other subjects, implies an enormous self-develop- 
ment." 

It must be assumed that the student of this course 
will devote several hours a week to its study and to 
the practice of the exercises connected with it. He 
may do so indefinitely with advantage to himself. 

Let me warn you that any plan which you may 
make for self-improvement on the lines that have 
been suggested will depend for its success upon the 
seriousness of your purpose and the persistency 
with which you pursue it. Do not embark upon the 
enterprise without mature thought. And having 
decided to devote some of your leisure to a defi- 
nitely useful occupation, set aside certain times for 
the purpose and adhere to your program with 
regularity. 

There is a best way of doing everything. It is 
usually the quickest, easiest and most economical. 
You should ascertain by trial the best way to per- 
form each of your routine processes and adopt it 
as your standard. In the section on Standards I 



TIME CONSUMPTION 243 

shall offer a number of suggestions in this connec- 
tion and call attention to the advantage of standard- 
izing the minor tasks which are commonly per- 
formed in a haphazard manner. In the section to 
be devoted to Schedules I shall give you a more 
detailed method of regulating Time Consumption 
and checking waste of Time. This record is not 
designed to be kept permanently, but merely until 
you shall have formed a habit of watchful super- 
vision over your expenditure of Time. 

The ideal disposition of Time is regulated by the 
principles a prudent man applies to the expenditure 
of money. (1) He keeps exact account of it. 
(2) He carefully guards against waste. (3) He 
plans for its profitable employment. (4) He uses 
a reasonable amount of it in pleasure. (5) He de- 
votes a certain proportion of it to the service of 
others. 

No better manner of governing the Consumption 
of Time can be conceived. Moreover, it is quite a 
practical method. The rational mental attitude to- 
ward Time is precisely that of the prudent man 
toward money. Those who have acquired this 
attitude expect each hour to yield its due value in 
one way or another, just as they look for its money's 
worth for every dollar spent. They protect their 
Time from waste by circumstance, as they protect 
their money from loss by accident. They will not 



244 EVERYDAY EFFICIENCY 

permit a person to uselessly consume their Time 
any more than they would permit him to pick their 
pocket. 



REVIEW QUESTIONS 

XII 

in. What is the essential basis of any plan of practising 
efficiency ? 

112. In recent years the connection between leisure and 
business hours has been recognized and greater 
attention paid to the disposition of the former. 
What has brought about this change? 

113. What guiding principle should control any system 
for the regulation of " after hours " ? 

114. What peculiar conditions are to be considered in 
the disposition of a business man's leisure? 

115. What is the first essential step in any reformation? 

116. How does this principle apply to the question of 
Time Consumption? 

117. How may you considerably increase the Time at 
your disposal? 

118. Are you to expect any reduction of freedom 
from the strict regulation of your Time? 



TIME CONSUMPTION 245 

119. Is leisure Time to be considered of less value than 
business Time? 

120. What is the ideal method of Time control? 



LESSON THIRTEEN 

RECORDS AND PLANS 

Our three divisions of Personal Efficiency, — 
Mental Efficiency, Physical Efficiency and Func- 
tional Efficiency, — may be otherwise expressed as 
Efficient Thinking, Efficient Being and Efficient 
Doing. 

There are six essential functions in Efficient 
Doing. They deal with Time, Records, Plans, 
Schedules, Despatching and Standardizing. These 
are interdependent and the practice of one facilitates 
the practice of all the others. 

We have already considered the regulation of 
Time, with a view to securing the utmost economy 
and utility. It is easy to see how this must in- 
fluence every phase of Functional Efficiency. 
Similarly, it will be shown that Records are the 
necessary bases of all the other functions. Plans 
are built upon Records, and involve Schedules and 
Standards, whilst they are naturally precedent to 
Despatching. 

The deeper the understanding of this co-relation 
246 



RECORDS AND PLANS 247 

and the closer the observation of its practical work- 
ing, the greater will be the attainment of Functional 
Efficiency. The desired condition is one of har- 
monious cooperation of these several functions. It 
will be of little avail to cultivate one and neglect 
another. Plans and Schedules are futile unless fol- 
lowed by Despatching. Effective Despatching is 
possible only by the employment of Standard 
Operations and Standard Conditions. In short, 
Functional Efficiency is as truly dependent upon 
the proper exercise of certain functions as a watch 
is dependent upon the proper action of a number 
of parts. 

For the present we shall consider Records and 
Plans. 

UNIVERSAL USE OF RECORDS 

A Record is any authentic evidence of facts or 
events. It may be material or otherwise; it may 
be permanent or transitory. 

A newspaper is a Record, and so is a school bell. 
A tombstone is a Record, and so is a bruise. 

We come in contact with Records on every side 
and at every moment of our day. Habit blunts our 
appreciation of their value and the extent to which 
we are dependent upon them. 

For example, we are all accustomed to the use of 
watches and clocks, — the Records of the passage of 



248 EVERYDAY EFFICIENCY 

time. We can only faintly imagine the social and 
industrial chaos which would result from the re- 
moval of all timepieces. 

What makes it possible for a man to gain a sound 
knowledge of the science of medicine in three years? 
The fact that the results of research and experience 
through hundreds of years have been preserved in 
Records. 

The individual memory is a storehouse of Rec- 
ords, without which a human being could not de- 
velop, or even survive. 

If the infant's first efforts to speak or to walk 
were devoid of Record, there would never be any 
advance beyond first attempts. But for the mental 
Records of burns, falls and other mishaps, no child 
would live to be ten years of age. 

All this is self-evident and platitudinous, no doubt. 
It is stated, however, to impress upon you the uni- 
versal necessity of Records. They are essential to 
systematic living and orderly activity. 

Every man derives from Records great benefits 
of which he is hardly conscious. He takes his news- 
papers, his books, his time-tables, his reports and 
his bank statements as matters of course. It does 
not occur to him that they are practical illustrations 
of a principle which he may apply in other direc- 
tions to his advantage. 



RECORDS AND PLANS 249 

THE USES OF RECORDS 

Let us briefly summarize a few of the purposes 
served by Records. 

They preserve knowledge through the medium of 
printed and written material, monuments, phono- 
graphic discs, photographic films, etc., — and private 
memoranda. 

They afford data on which to form plans con- 
cerning public and business affairs, — and personal 
matters. 

They indicate short cuts, reveal waste and mark 
progress in important operations, — and in the activi- 
ties of the individual. 

The man who readily understands the need of 
Records in the management of a factory or a bank, 
may be quite oblivious to their influence as a factor 
in promoting his Personal Efficiency. 

But let us see. The most insidious form of in- 
efficiency is waste of Time. How can you ascertain 
how much Time you waste and in what ways, ex- 
cept by means of Records? Do you imagine that 
you can effect any appreciable improvement with- 
out the employment of Records? 

Some of your routine methods in everyday life 
may be wasteful of time and energy. They are 
likely to continue so unless you use Records to 
detect your shortcomings. 



250 EVERYDAY EFFICIENCY 

Records are indispensable to the establishment 
of intelligent Standards. You can set a reasonable 
mark for future performance only on the basis of 
past Records. 

Records are a sine qua non in the cultivation of 
Efficiency. You can not determine on the best way 
to do anything, except by experiment and Records 
of results. 

The psychological effect of Records is not to be 
overlooked. You know the incentive that is de- 
rived from tangible evidence of achievement. You 
know the satisfaction and stimulus that you gain 
from seeing constantly increasing figures to your 
credit in a private memorandum of effort at self- 
improvement. I am acquainted with a highly suc- 
cessful business man who constantly carries such a 
Record in his vest pocket and sustains a strong urge 
by occasionally looking over it. 



IMPORTANCE OF RECORDS IN PRIVATE 
AFFAIRS 

You must have gathered from the remarks, in the 
first paper on Functional Efficiency, on the disposi- 
tion of leisure hours, that in matters of compara- 
tively little consequence Efficiency is of the highest 
importance. This, because life in its larger aspects 
is made up of small things, and because the habit 



RECORDS AND PLANS 251 

and spirit of Efficiency are most easily acquired by 
practicing them in the lesser affairs. 

The fact of having kept systematic Records relat- 
ing to some of the minor matters of your private 
life will greatly facilitate the application of the 
practice to the greater matters of your business life. 
For the sake of practice and the establishment of 
efficient habits 1 may suggest Records which it 
would not be worth while keeping after they had 
served these purposes. 

To illustrate : A young graduate of the Boston 
" Tech " for several years kept Records of tests in 
connection with the standardization of the rou- 
tine tasks and conditions of his private life. He 
was entrusted with the work of standardizing op- 
erations in a large factory, and, although he was 
deficient of business experience, succeeded admi- 
rably. 

The explanation of this unusual achievement is 
that, although practicing in a small sphere, the 
young man had thoroughly learned the laws of 
Efficiency and the manner of their operation, whilst 
at the same time he had acquired the efficient habit 
and mental attitude. He is now in a responsible 
position which requires the constant application of 
the principles of Efficiency to big business affairs, 
but he has long since abandoned the regulation of 
his private life by rules and mechanical devices. 



252 EVERYDAY EFFICIENCY 

The necessity no longer exists. Efficiency in small 
things is automatic with him. 

If you have been half Efficient in the keeping of 
Records in relation to this Course your Efficiency 
File should contain at least 150 cards, and they will 
represent valuable data. 

You should have a number of extracts from the 
lessons carded. These should be supplemented by 
your own thoughts on the various subjects and ad- 
ditional ideas derived from collateral reading, as 
well as pertinent experiences. Your Records of the 
exercises which you have practiced should afford 
you satisfactory evidence of improvement in vari- 
ous directions. You can gauge your increased 
power of concentration or memory. Your rowing- 
machine Record indicates muscular development or 
your deep-breathing Record, chest expansion. 

If you have merely read this series of lessons, 
without applying the suggestions to practice, you 
have come very near to wasting your time. Mere 
theory is of no more value to you than an auto- 
mobile in a show-room would be if you stood out- 
side with a strong desire and a weak bank account. 

On the assumption that you have been trying to 
turn the Course to the utmost practical account, I 
will now urge you to keep Records relating to any 
personal matters that may be in the least worth 
preserving. It is better to overdo it than to un- 



RECORDS AND PLANS 253 

derdo it at the outset. Remember, we are trying to 
establish a habit of physical and mental orderli- 
ness. 

Then again, you can never tell when one of your 
Records may develop unsuspected value. A friend, 
who suffers from periodical attacks of neuralgia, for 
which he finds it difficult to obtain relief, once 
secured from a physician, who was a casual travel- 
ing companion, a prescription which was strikingly 
efficacious. About a year afterwards my friend had 
a violent attack of his chronic complaint and real- 
ized that he had made no Record of the prescrip- 
tion and had no means of securing a copy, for which 
he would readily have given a hundred dollars. 
Somewhat similar experiences to this constantly 
occur in the lives of men who make no effort to save 
information and events from slipping into the limbo 
of oblivion. 

Next to Records of Time Consumption, the most 
important in your private life are those relating to 
Money. At least, keep a fairly detailed Record of 
receipts and expenditures. This almost invariably 
points the road to feasible economies and is often 
the first step in saving. 

PLANNING 
In a previous paper we have discussed the wider 
operation of Planning in its relation to forming a 



254 EVERYDAY EFFICIENCY 

Purpose. Here we will consider the importance of 
applying the principle to minor affairs and making 
a systematic habit of it. 

Efficient Despatching is dependent upon prepara- 
tory Plans. If you do a thing in the best way with- 
out having given any previous thought to it, you are 
the beneficiary of a sheer accident, — and it won't 
occur often. 

Nevertheless, the majority of men neglect to Plan 
for the performance of private matters or the 
less consequential matters of business. Take the 
ordinary committee meeting by way of illustration. 
Several men come together without even knowing 
what they are going to discuss. The result is, — 
well, there is no more effective device in business 
practice for wasting time than the ordinary com- 
mittee meeting. 

A vast amount of friction, loss of Time and in- 
efficiency may be avoided by laying Plans for future 
tasks and events. When these are of a routine 
character, Planning for them is, in effect, Standard- 
izing. 

There is no serious labor involved in this practice. 
It is merely the exercise of reasonable forethought. 
A large proportion of it may be made the profitable 
occupation of odd moments. 

You have a railroad journey or an outing in pros- 
pect. Don't leave your preparations to the last 



RECORDS AND PLANS 255 

instant and incur the vexation and discomfort which 
arise from some oversight. 

You have set aside a certain hour for study. 
Make a point beforehand of seeing that a suitable 
place will be ready for you and necessary material 
at hand. Otherwise, you may spend some of your 
apportioned time in searching for needed articles 
and sit down to your work in anything but a favor- 
able frame of mind. 

Or, it may be a matter of greater consequence. 
You have decided to commence next week on a 
new Schedule of Time Consumption. Plan it. 
Think over the project in connection with your 
Records and past experience. Apportion your 
Time intelligently, and get into the right mental 
attitude for carrying out your purpose. 

Again, you have made up your mind to take up 
the study of botany, let us say. Don't sit down on 
a certain evening and plunge into the first book on 
the subject at hand, with the idea of working as 
long as you feel like it and resuming when a favor- 
able opportunity offers. That is starting a task 
without beginning or end. 

Deliberately Plan your undertaking. Set aside 
certain times for regularly pursuing it. Determine 
on the best methods and the best books by getting 
reliable advice. Provide the necessary equipment, 
note-book, specimen holder, record cards, etc. 



256 EVERYDAY EFFICIENCY 

That is rational Planning which results in Efficient 
Despatching. 

As I said with regard to Records, many matters 
to which you apply the principle of Planning may 
not be of serious consequence in themselves, but 
the practice which they afford you will be of the 
utmost benefit. The main object is to make fore- 
sight and preparation — mental and material — 
habitual with you. 

It may not be of much importance whether or 
not you glance round the bath room before going to 
bed in order to be sure that everything is ready for 
your morning toilet, but the practice of doing so will 
foster the habit of orderliness. 

Then again, as I intimated with reference to 
Records, the ultimate effect of some trivial thing is 
often much greater than could possibly be antici- 
pated. You get out of a cold bath to find your 
towel missing and spend an uncomfortable five 
minutes in securing a fresh one. Chilled and 
irritated you go to breakfast. Some petty incident, 
which would not ordinarily have affected you, now 
makes you savage. You go to work thoroughly 
upset and mismanage an important matter, in con- 
sequence. 

George Sims, I believe it is, has a story which 
begins with a stale egg and ends with a murder. 

Bear in mind that, if the practices I suggest some- 



RECORDS AND PLANS 257 

times seem to be of a trifling character, they are 
training along the easiest lines for greater achieve- 
ment. 



REVIEW QUESTIONS 
XIII 

121. Define Functional Efficiency. 

122. Name the essentials of Functional Efficiency. 

123. What is the peculiar relation of Time Efficiency to 
the other essentials ? 

124. Give one or two illustrations of the inter-relation 
between the different essentials. 

125. Briefly state a few of the principal purposes served 
by Records. 

126. Wherein lies the importance of Efficiency in small 
affairs ? 

127. What is the advantage of habitually planning for 
the little tasks and events of life? 

128. Upon what is efficient Despatching dependent? 

129. What important advantage is gained by Planning 
in small affairs ? 

130. What is the probable result of a Schedule drawn 
without Planning? 



LESSON FOURTEEN 

SCHEDULING— DESPATCHING-STANDARD- 
IZING 

In our last lesson we considered Recording and 
Planning. These are simple ideas and simple 
processes. And so, in fact, are each of the five 
essentials in Functional Efficiency. There is no 
difficulty about performing any of them, except the 
difficulty which arises from our lack of will and 
perseverance. The methods which have been sug- 
gested for acquiring the desired habits are designed 
to make the minimum tax on will and to promote 
progress along the easiest lines. But some effort 
and determination are necessary, especially if a 
great degree of inefficiency is to be overcome. It 
is not advisable to try too much at once, but it is of 
the utmost importance to adhere rigidly to the prac- 
tices which you adopt. Do not allow yourself to 
become discouraged by lapses and failures. You 
will find your task growing constantly less difficult, 
with a steady tendency in practice to become 
habitual. A few weeks of faithful effort will surely 
show a remarkable improvement in the functions 

that are the subjects of these final lessons. 

258 



SCHEDULING— DESPATCHING 259 

Now, let us turn our attention to two other 
simple factors in Functional Efficiency, to wit : 

SCHEDULING AND DESPATCHING 

A Schedule is nothing more nor less than a list 
of time or material. Emerson defines it as " an 
itemized statement of time to be used in definitely 
stated processes or operations." He goes on to 
say: "Your plan is a general statement; your 
schedule, a definite, itemized statement." 

Material Schedules are of the most varied kind. 
You make a list of the things that you will need for 
an outing, of the books you must procure for a 
certain study, or of your year's supply of clothing. 
These are all schedules. 

We shall only consider the Schedule in its rela- 
tion to Time. In that respect it may refer to 
precise time for the occurrence of certain action, 
without regard to duration. Or, it may refer to the 
exact time of occurrence, as well as to the measure 
of time to be consumed in performance. The 
latter is the desirable and efficient form of Schedule, 
but its employment is not always practicable. 

Let us suppose that you have to walk to some 
place of which you do not know, and have no means 
of ascertaining, the distance. You may set an exact 
time for the trip, but you can not say how long it 
will take to make it. If you cover the ground with- 



260 EVERYDAY EFFICIENCY 

out taking any note of time, when it becomes neces- 
sary to make the journey again you are in the same 
state of uncertainty as at first. On the other hand, 
should you have walked at your usual pace, and 
carefully noted the time occupied, you are in a 
position to completely schedule your next trip. 

Here you have a simple illustration of the inter- 
dependence of Schedules, Records and Standards. 
When you timed your walk, you standardized an 
operation, and if you made a note of the result for 
the aid of your memory, you found use for a Record. 
Millions of persons go through life, doing the same 
things over and over again without ever thinking 
of standardizing them, that is, without attempting 
to find out the best way of doing them, the time oc- 
cupied, and so on. An enormous amount of waste 
energy, as well as innumerable mistakes, may be 
traced to this failure, which is an extremely com- 
mon one in business life. 

In considering Schedules as measures of time, 
emphasis must be placed upon their value as a 
stimulus to energy and a preventive of waste. If 
you have four tasks to perform in two hours and 
start upon them without any definite appropriation 
of periods, the chances are that you will not com- 
plete them in the time, or that you will give too 
much time to one and shirk another. Furthermore, 
with the two-hour spell in your mind you are apt 



SCHEDULING— DESPATCHING 261 

to be slow in getting down to hard work and prone 
to admit of interruptions. 

Now, if you commence with certain periods ap- 
portioned, say, 30, 40, 15 and 35 minutes, the mental 
sense of order will in itself be a great advantage. 
You will concentrate at once on your work, without 
any feeling of hurry, but with a desire to perform 
the task in the scheduled time and in less, if pos- 
sible. Each task represents a definite undertaking- 
measured by time. You may go through a whole 
day's work in this manner, constantly keyed up and 
watchful of waste. 

THE NECESSITY OF DESPATCH 
Scheduling is a simple thing in itself, but how 
important it is we immediately realize on the brief- 
est reflection of the chaos that would prevail with- 
out Schedules. If the solar system were not 
operated on schedule this would be a topsy-turvy 
world. But take our trains, our offices, our meals, 
all our utilities and conveniences, in short. All the 
orderliness of life is dependent upon Schedules — 
and prompt Despatching. Schedules would lose 
their value if we could not depend upon the timely 
occurrence of the actions scheduled. And, as it is 
with affairs of moment and business, so it is with 
lesser matters. Leisure occupation that is not at 
all regulated by Plan, defined by Schedule and car- 



262 EVERYDAY EFFICIENCY 

ried out with Despatch, must be more or less 
haphazard and unprofitable. 

If you will think back over a month, or even a 
week, it is almost certain that your memory will 
bring up any number of instances of Plans that 
have never been carried out and not a few which 
have been entirely abandoned because, with pro- 
crastination, there has grown a positive distaste for 
performance. We often defer some trifling duty, 
that might be discharged in fifteen minutes, until 
it assumes the aspect of a serious and disagreeable 
task. Our lives are filled with good intentions 
which never go any farther, because we fail to set 
a definite time for action, and act at the appointed 
time. We are everlastingly deciding to do this or 
that " some day," or when we " get time." 

The all-important thing is to couple up our 
Plans with Schedules and then to Despatch them 
promptly. It is wonderful how smoothly life may 
be made to run under such conditions and what an 
increased extent of accomplishment is possible with 
even less effort. Let us form the habit in small 
matters. If you seriously intend to do something, 
set a time for the performance and do it on time. 
The main thing is not so much to establish certain 
rules of conduct as to create a certain mental habit. 
The former must be one of the chief agencies for 
creating the latter. This will account for the fact 



SCHEDULING— DESPATCHING 263 

that I have sometimes recommended practices 
which may seem to be almost trivial, and would be 
if they had no ulterior purpose. 

I will ask you now to install a vest pocket 
memorandum book for what we may call temporary 
or casual Schedules. In this book jot down things 
which you intend to do, with the precise time at 
which they are to be done. It is not necessary to 
add the time to be occupied in performance. When 
you accomplish a scheduled action — duty or pleas- 
ure — on time, check it off. That is all. 

This is a very simple practice and it may appear 
to be hardly worth while. Try it conscientiously 
for one week and you will appreciate its helpfulness. 
In the first place it is an aid to systematic Time 
Consumption. You will not engage yourself to do 
something at a certain time without considering 
your ability of performance, any more than you 
would draw a check without consideration of the 
funds to your credit. The mental effect of putting 
yourself on record is highly desirable in this and all 
other efficiency practices. The encouragement 
and satisfaction to be derived from definite im- 
provement is, of course, an important consideration. 

Now, as you keep this Record of scheduled un- 
dertakings, you will necessarily be establishing 
Standards in connection with it, and by degrees 
your memoranda will take on the form of complete 



264 EVERYDAY EFFICIENCY 

Schedules, at least for processes and operations of 
a recurrent character. (By " complete Schedules " 
are meant such as embrace time of Despatching 
and time to be occupied in performance.) Some of 
these you will find of value in scheduling permanent 
programs, such as your Time Consumption 
Schedule. 

I am assuming that you have ere this constructed 
a Time Consumption Schedule based on fifteen- 
minute periods, and covering your leisure hours. 
This should be kept for several weeks and until its 
observance becomes an easy matter. Then you can 
substitute for it a Schedule on broader divisions of 
Time, without danger of wasting the quarter hours. 
You must keep watch on yourself, however. It is 
quite probable that there will be a gradual falling 
off in your efficiency of Time Consumption unless 
you are careful. Should this occur, it may be 
readily corrected by putting yourself on the quar- 
ter-hour Schedule again for a week or two. It is 
safe to say that if you maintain the discipline for a 
period of twelve months you will have formed a 
lifelong habit of efficiency in this respect. 

APPLICATION TO OFFICE WORK 
I shall depart from the plan of this course to the 
extent of describing a simple but effective system 
of scheduling and despatching business tasks. 



SCHEDULING— DESPATCHING 265 

The necessary equipment consists of an ordinary 
desk diary and a small blank book. In the latter 
are entered, from time to time, tasks to be per- 
formed, the most urgent being starred with a red 
crayon. 

The last half hour at the office is devoted to 
scheduling the work for the succeeding day. This 
is done by transferring items from the task book to 
the diary and appropriating definite times for each. 
The schedule is then passed to a subordinate, who 
sees that all documents and other material that will 
be needed to carry out the program shall be at 
hand when required. 

The diary page for the day presents a series of 
tasks for despatch in definite periods. Many of 
these are standardized operations, in connection 
with which it is possible to make practically exact 
calculations. In other cases, time consumption 
must be estimated. On the left hand side of the 
page are set the scheduled periods ; on the right, 
the actual time when the task was commenced and 
when it was finished, blue crayon being used in the 
former case and red in the latter. Regular in- 
tervals of brief rest are provided for and spent in 
stretching the limbs, deep breathing at an open 
window and relieving the eyes by gazing at distant 
objects. 

A constant effort is maintained to despatch in 



266 EVERYDAY EFFICIENCY 

less than the scheduled time. There is great satis- 
faction when the accumulated gains enable an extra 
item to be taken from the task book and disposed 
of. The system keeps one keyed up, makes for 
mental poise, prevents waste of time, and generally 
enables a great increase of work to be done. 

The most difficult tasks are set for the early hours 
of the business day, when the mind is freshest, and 
the period immediately following the noon break. 
Changes of occupation are secured as often as pos- 
sible. A task which will occupy two hours is 
divided into two periods, separated by other work. 

In connection with this system are a number of 
devices for saving labor and facilitating despatch. 
They are such, however, as each individual must 
arrange to suit the circumstances and character of 
his work. 

THE ULTIMATE BENEFITS OF THE COURSE 
The lessons of this Course must be read time and 
again and close thought devoted to them. The 
Exercises must be practiced until their purposes 
are fully achieved. Only in this way can you derive 
great and lasting benefit from the instruction. 

Whatever improvement in Personal Efficiency 
you may gain from the Course will be reflected in 
your Vocational Efficiency. Every principle ad- 
vanced in these papers is applicable to the conditions 



SCHEDULING— DESPATCHING 267 

of your business. In fact, every practice suggested 
may, — with slight modification in some instances, — 
be followed in your work. The underlying pur- 
pose of the Course is increase of Vocational Effi- 
ciency. It is designed to afford training to that 
end. Had the more direct method of applying the 
instruction to your business been followed your task 
would have been more difficult and the results 
slower of attainment. As it is, the effect upon your 
business efficiency must have been coincident with 
the improvement in your Personal Efficiency, — that 
is inevitable. You may not have been aware of its 
full extent, but it has been operating constantly. 
Now, you should begin to intelligently plan and 
carry out methods for the direct application to your 
business of the principles you have learned in this 
Course. 



REVIEW QUESTIONS 

XIV 

131. Name three or four forms of Schedule in common 



use. 



132. What is the difference between a Plan and a 
Schedule ? 



268 EVERYDAY EFFICIENCY 

133- What is a Standard of operation? 

134. What are some of the chief advantages of using 
time Schedules? 

135. What are the essential steps in Functional Effi- 
ciency between desire and consummation? 

136. What is the main purpose of practising Functional 
Efficiency in small matters ? 

137. Why are Standards necessary to the effective use 
of time Schedules? 

138. Give an illustration from everyday life of the 
necessity of Standards. 

139. Name three important advantages to be derived 
from Scheduling the day's work. 

140. Are the principles advanced in this Course ap- 
plicable to your business? 



Appendix 



ANSWERS TO REVIEW QUESTIONS 

i. Personal Efficiency is the mental and physical ability 
to conceive and execute in the easiest, quickest and 
most economical manner; that is to say, in the best 
way. 

2. Better result, in less time and with less effort. 

3. (1) General and purely personal. (2) Technical 
or vocational. 

4. The existence of the former is essential to the ex- 
istence of the latter. 

5. Efficiency in comparatively small matters. 

6. To live his life in the manner most conducive to his 
own benefit and that of others. 

7. Upbuilding and Eradication. 

8. Will, Perseverance, Self-denial and Discipline. 

9. Personal Efficiency will have a direct effect upon 
your work and a strong influence on your success 
in life. 

10. Separation of the cream of the instruction and im- 
pressing it upon the memory. 

11. Modern psychologists use the term " Suggestion " to 
signify impressions made upon the mind by various 

269 



270 APPENDIX 

agencies; by physical sensations and physical ob- 
jects. It also implies direct statements, especially 
repetitions, the influence of which arises from the 
supposed authority of the source. 

12. Advertisements, plays, conversations, actions of 
strangers, expressions of public men. 

13. The Sub-Conscious Mind is the field in which Sug- 
gestion takes root and from which its fruits spring. 

14. By cultivating moods and creating conditions un- 
favorable to them, as well as by facilitating the 
reception of Suggestions contrary to those which it 
is desired to exclude. 

15. Auto-Suggestion, or Suggestion directed to Self by 
Self. 

16. An efficient Personality manifesting in Mental, 
Physical and Functional Efficiency. 

17. Creating a counter-habit. 

18. " Character is the sum total of traits and qualities 
acquired by the use or modification of original 
endowments." 

19. (1) Clear conception of the Ideal Personality and 
the quality-elements of which it is to be composed. 
(2) Self-Analysis, enabling a comparison of the 
actual and ideal. (3) The formation of a definite 
system for the cultivation of certain qualities and 
the eradication of certain others. (4) Constant 
fostering of newly-acquired qualities until they be- 
come permanently rooted in the character. 

20. The statement of a banker on financial matters will 



APPENDIX 271 

be accepted without question, as it is taken for 
granted that he knows. 

21. Courage, Patience, Energy, Perseverance and 
Decision. 

22. (1) Sitting without movement for five minutes. 

(2) Depriving oneself of a favorite beverage. 

(3) Billiard playing with concentration. 

23. Confidence of success. 

24. Purpose. 

25. Frequent reflection on the purpose; realization of 
additional advantages, and fresh points of interest. 

26. Steady energy, constant courage, self-confidence, 
hopeful patience and sustained interest. 

27. The ability to note progress and possession of 
standards for future effort. 

28. Concentration and Will. 

29. The early morning when the mind is clearest and 
most vigorous. 

30. As soon as the Will begins to weaken, seek fresh 
points of view, new interest and additional motives 
for adherence to resolution. 

31. Uncontrolled imagination, lack of self-mastery, 
weak reason, ill-health. 

32. Habitually and determinedly doing the thing one 
fears. 

33. By reacting on the mind it sets up a feeling in 
harmony with itself. 

34. Walk briskly, whistling the while, and you will 



272 APPENDIX 

shortly experience a feeling of elation. Occupy the 
mind for half an hour with depressing thoughts and 
you may determine by actual test, that your physical 
strength has appreciably diminished in the meantime. 

35. Never avoid a situation involving the Fear-con- 
dition in question, but, on the contrary, seek occa- 
sions for facing it. Employ auto-suggestion by 
constant assertion of Courage and denial of the 
besetting Fear. 

36. Physical, intellectual and moral. 

37. Because Courage is essentially a mental condition. 

38. By excluding from the mind everything but the 
matter of chief immediate concern. 

39. They set up a process of true chemical poisoning in 
the system. 

40. Wholesome diet, vigorous exercise and abundant 
sleep. 

41. Because the effects of effort are immediate and the 
process of cultivation is entirely pleasurable. 

42. Beneficial effects on health, general mental condi- 
tion and capacity for work. 

43. Hygienic conditions at home and at work; general 
good health; wholesome food; regular exercise; 
deep breathing; sufficient sleep. 

44. Self-estimation at 100 per cent, of your true value, — 
exactly, if possible, but certainly no less. 

45. Because it is acting along the line of habit which is 
always the easiest direction to pursue. 



APPENDIX 273 

46. In the former case the more stable resources of the 
character are called into play; graver consequences 
are involved ; there is usually some time for prepara- 
tion. 

47. Schooling the brain to instant action of the desired 
nature when the occasion rises. 

48. Because it is senseless to be sad or anxious about 
matters that cannot be mended. When conditions 
can be remedied and we are doing our best to im- 
prove them, there is ample reason to be cheerfully 
optimistic. 

49. They should be analyzed in order to discover causes 
and decide on measures for the prevention or recur- 
rence — then dismissed from the mind. 

50. Maintaining sympathy with our fellows and interest 
in their welfare. 

51. First, that of an all-round balanced personality; 
second, the condition of complete self-possession in 
the person. 

52. The fact that so comparatively few of them have 
any serious interests outside of their business to 
occupy their minds after hours. 

53. By this is meant development in the direction of 
general culture as well as in the line of your voca- 
tion. 

54. Sufficient exercise; good digestion; timely relaxa- 
tion ; ample rest and habitual deep breathing. 

55. It is essentially a mental quality with a considerable 
proportion of the physical element in it. 



274 APPENDIX 

56. The fixing in one's mind upon a subject in itself 
prevents mind-wandering, agitation or disturbance. 
Then, again, the ability to concentrate at will upon 
any chosen subject enables one to control the mental 
activities and eliminate disturbing and undesirable 
thought. 

57. " Hustle " implies hurry and haste, consequently it is 
inconsistent with controlled and well-considered 
effort. Calm, intelligent, energetic action is in- 
finitely more effective. 

58. Superficial observation and superficial attention. 

59. Concentration upon the subject to be remembered 
and interest in it. 

60. With practice it may be made the greatest aid. 
For example, anything which you commit to your 
mind during your last waking moments for resurrec- 
tion the next day, let us say, will almost invariably 
be remembered at the desired time. 

61. A well-conceived ideal and a clear-cut plan for 
pursuing it. 

62. The principal and predominating Purpose in life; 
in a less degree, any major purpose. 

63. The effect of crystallizing, strengthening and ex- 
panding it. 

64. A minor Ideal which is directly connected with an 
Ultimate Ideal and contributes to its attainment. 

65. Ideals which, though perhaps important in them- 
selves, are not directly connected with either the 
Ultimate or Contributory Ideals. The Lateral 



APPENDIX 275 

Ideals may, however, influence the other Ideals one 
way or another. 

66. First, their desirability; second, their worth com- 
pared with the effort necessary to their attainment; 
third, their effect on the Ultimate and other Ideals; 
and fourth, the capacity for pursuing them success- 
fully. 

67. The possession of aptitude and perseverance to 
attain it. 

68. Because the realization would have a tendency to 
stop progress. 

69. Because without such a conception you cannot form 
a definite plan for pursuing it. 

70. You must be stronger and better for it and gain in 
satisfaction of self-respect. 

71. First, investigation of causes; second, decision on 
remedial measures; third, a well-considered plan to 
be adhered to until the result is secured. 

72. Proper food, right breathing, rational clothing, good 
ventilation, physical and mental health, exercise and 
rest. 

73. Keeping the spine straight. 

74. Plentiful fresh air and exercise, without recourse 
to medicine. 

75. Derangements of the digestive or nervous systems 
and eye-strain. 

y6. A tonic effect on the nervous system, general in- 
crease of vitality and the energizing of the mental 
faculties. 



276 APPENDIX 

Jj. Because the close connection between the visual 
centers and the brain centers lead to the greatest 
variety of functional derangement as a consequence 
of eye-strain. 

78. It should be held so that the line of vision is at 
right-angles to the face when the body is in a normal 
position. 

79. In all such activities the mind should be concen- 
trated as intensely as possible upon the task in hand. 
For example, in all exercises the mental application 
should be coincident with the physical; in rest and 
relaxation the mental condition must be made to 
harmonize with the physical state, and so on. 

80. Because in the case of each man there are certain 
conditions under which he can live and work best 
and these must be discovered by himself. 

81. (1) Excess; (2) Speed; (3) Lack of discrimina- 
tion. 

82. Because the stomach is often trained to false desire 
and because instinctive cravings may not have sound 
ground. 

83. Any substance which is capable of being assimilated 
by the human organism and utilized in its normal 
functions. 

84. Milk, eggs, grains, vegetables, fruits, sugar and fats. 

85. The value or efficiency of a certain food as a nutri- 
tive agent. 

86. By reducing the quantity of food and diminishing 
the meat element. 



APPENDIX 277 

87. (1) Heat; (2) Tissue building ; (3) Mineral salts; 
(4) Vitamines. 

88. As a carbohydrate. 

89. Phosphorus, sulphur, iron and lime. 

90. The entire process of converting food into cellular 
tissue. 

91. Because muscle, once developed, needs attention to 
be kept in condition ; otherwise there is a danger of 
physical deterioration resultant from cessation of 
the customary exercise. 

92. The great difficulty in maintaining interest in them. 
After the first flush of enthusiasm and novelty they 
assume the nature of drudgery and hard work. 

93. They should balance, in the sense that the more food 
consumed the greater the amount of exercise needed, 
and vice versa. 

94. One which is regular and which brings practically 
all the muscles of the body into play. 

95. Swimming, rowing and fencing. 

96. Not as a rule and never unless it be of the simplest 
kind. The rowing machine is a pronounced excep- 
tion. The trouble with apparatus as a rule is that 
it stimulates to excessive exertion. 

97. That it shall become a pleasure part of the daily 
routine. 

98. Some form which will bring into play the larger 
trunk muscles, the arms and the upper extremities. 

99. On the contrary, it is advisable to develop no more 
than one has practical need for. 



278 APPENDIX 

ioo. The inter-relation of mind and body is so closely 
established that the former may be made to play a 
direct part in physical exercise toward the produc- 
tion of the desired result. 

10 1. It is that action and relaxation shall alternate at 
intervals, which will avoid exhaustion and difficult 
recuperation. 

102. That of intense application broken by frequent 
short rests. 

103. It is a condition of poisoning occasioned by the 
presence in the circulatory system of waste in ex- 
cessive amount. So long as action is maintained 
this excess is increased, but under rest it is auto- 
matically carried off. 

104. It is not. What actually occurs in such a state 
is not the annihilation of power but its suspension 
by clogging of the machinery, so to speak. As 
soon as this is cleared, energy immediately becomes 
available for further effort. 

105. By working hard for spells of, say, an hour or so, 
and interspersing them with periods of ten or 
fifteen minutes of complete physical rest. It must 
be remembered that mental activity can be main- 
tained much longer than physical activity. 

106. Excessive indulgence in food, tobacco, and alcohol ; 
insufficient sleep or exercise ; worry ; over-anxiety ; 
incessant thought upon business without proper 
diversion. 

107. Arranging the tasks of the day so that the most 
difficult and important will be given precedence 



APPENDIX 279 

and performed whilst the mental and physical 
powers are freshest; this, in conjunction with the 
suggested method of frequent and short spells of 
rest. 

108. By training the Sub-Conscious Mind to activity, 
under direction, during sleep. 

109. It is not, because any amount of sleep in excess of 
actual requirements is enervating. 

no. By making physical and mental tests of his capacity 
under different periods of sleep. 

in. Some system of Time Consumption, because Time 
is the primary essential of all achievement. 

112. Higher standards of business ethics and keener 
competition in all branches of business have had 
much to do with it, but the chief factor has been 
self-interest. Men have awakened to a realization 
of the beneficial effect which may be produced 
upon their vocational affairs by appropriate dis- 
position of their leisure. 

113. It should not be restricted to abstinence from 
harmful habits but must be extended to the culti- 
vation of desirable ones. In other words, it must 
be positive, not merely negative. 

114. His work-day involving strain upon nerves and 
physical organs, his " after hours " must provide 
rest and diversion, both of which may be secured 
whilst putting time to profitable use. 

115. Honest and thorough examination of the conditions 
to be reformed. 



280 APPENDIX 

116. It demands that the plan for the improvement of 
use of time must start with a close investigation of 
the present manner of using it. 

117. By systematic use of it and reduction of waste. 

118. On the contrary, it will result in removing many 
harassing conditions and creating a sense of com- 
plete control over one's time and activities. 

119. That depends entirely upon the use which is made 
of the former. It may be, and is with many 
highly efficient men, the most valuable portion of 
all their time. During leisure they sow the seed 
that bears fruit in business hours. 

120. Keeping account of it, avoiding waste and planning 
for profitable employment. 

121. It is the practical application of the principles of 
I Personal Efficiency and depends for its full effect- 
iveness upon Physical Efficiency and Mental 
Efficiency. 

122. Time, Records, Plans, Schedules, Despatching and 
Standardizing. 

123. It is the foundation basis of each and all. 

124. Despatching cannot be efficiently performed with- 
out previous Plans and Schedules. Operations 
can only be Standardized by the employment of 
Records and the economic regulation of Time. 
Intelligent Plans are dependent upon Records of 
fact, which may be material or mental. 

125. They preserve knowledge; afford data; indicate 
short cuts ; reveal waste ; and mark progress. 



APPENDIX 281 

126. In the fact that the larger issues of life are made 
up of small details and the habit of Efficiency is 
most easily acquired by practice in smaller things. 

127. The formation of the habit will tend to intelligent 
and regular planning in the important affairs of 

business. 

128. Upon preparatory Plans. 

129. It makes foresight and preparation habitual. 

130. In all likelihood some portions of it will prove 
impracticable when it comes to Despatching. 

131. A railroad time-table; a bank deposit slip; a laun- 
dry list ; an inventory of goods. 

132. The former is a general statement; the latter a 
specific and detailed statement. 

133. The best way of performing any operation. That 
is to say, the quickest, easiest and most economical 
as to material or money. 

134. They stimulate energy, check wastes, and induce 
orderliness. 

135. First Planning, then Scheduling, and lastly Des- 
patching. That is to say, a clearly denned idea of 
the thing wanted, a time arrangement for action, 
and the action itself. 

136. The formation of habits which will be compara- 
tively easy to apply to more important matters. 

137. Because unless you have definite ways of doing 
certain things it is impossible to calculate upon the 
time which will be required to do them. 



yv 






282 APPENDIX 



138. Unless you have Standard ways of dressing, a: 
Standard time for your breakfast and a Standard 
method of reaching the office you could never tell 
from one day to another at which hour you would 
be there. 

139. (1) Saving of Time. (2) Facility in Despatch. 
(3) Mental orderliness. 

140. Most assuredly and you should begin to plan meth- 
ods for making the application. 



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